Illinois Route 23 (IL 23) is a north–south state highway in northern Illinois. It runs from IL 116 in Pontiac north to U.S. Route 14 (UL 14) south of Harvard. This is a distance of . The highway was established in 1918 as one of the original 46 SBI routes. The routing of IL 23 has not changed since its establishment.
Route description IL 23 is a major arterial route in rural central and north-central Illinois. It is a parallel to the Interstate 39/U.S. Route 51 (I-39/US 51) combination approximately west. It parallels IL 47 approximately east.
The road starts near downtown Pontiac and runs as the main highway north, intersecting with I-55 and former US 66. IL 23 continues as a two-lane highway from this point, turning west and running through Cornell. After that, it turns back north to travel through the middle of Streator, where the route splits to follow two different one-way streets (Park and Bloomington streets). IL 23 continues through Grand Ridge to Ottawa, where the road follows 1st Avenue and State Street, to run concurrently with IL 71 across the Illinois River. The highway once again splits into two one-way streets (Columbus and LaSalle streets) through downtown Ottawa, until a block south of its junction with US 6, where IL 71 departs toward the east.
North of Ottawa, IL 23 has a full diamond interchange with I-80. IL 23 has two additional concurrencies with US 34 and US 52, though no notable cities are present between Ottawa and DeKalb. IL 23 runs under I-88 with no interchange, though access is available via Fairview Drive to two parallel roads with interchanges (Peace and Annie Glidden roads). Between DeKalb and Sycamore, IL 23 has four lanes. In Sycamore, IL 23 briefly overlaps IL 64. After one final concurrency at IL 72 near Genoa, IL 23 has an interchange with I-90. It intersects US 20 and the western terminus of IL 176 in Marengo, and terminates south of Harvard at US 14.
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Illinois Highway Ends: Illinois Route 23