IL 97 starts off in
Springfield on East Clear Lake Avenue. It heads west, forming a
concurrency with
IL 125. IL 97 splits off and north shortly after, entering
Menard County. In Menard County, along a concurrency with
IL 123 in
New Salem, it passes
Lincoln's New Salem State Historic Site near
Petersburg, the home of
Abraham Lincoln in the 1830s. It afterwards passes through
Mason County. The road enters
Fulton County immediately after crossing a bridge concurrent with
US 136 and
IL 78. It then passes both the
Emiquon National Wildlife Refuge and
Dickson Mounds State Memorial. Afterwards, it drops the concurrency with IL 78 and US 136 but picks up
US 24. During and after it gains concurrency with
IL 100, it heads north throughout hills. It enters
Knox County after a brief concurrency with
IL 9. It continues north through hills until its northern terminus at
US 150 near
Galesburg. ==History==