I-55 Rest Area

Pamela Huck

This is a great rest area. Well done, Illinois!!! I pulled in around midnight. I saw the blue emergency pole phones and became concerned about safety in this rest area. There were hardly any 4-wheel vehicles which reinforced my concern for safety. However the reviews here didn't give cause for concern and there were plenty of OTR trucks on the other side. I can only say that I slept very well here. Never woke for craziness going on. When I got up I headed into the restrooms and just to check them out. Since I travel a lot, I look and judge rest areas with a close eye. Some states are absolutely horrible when it comes to design and maintenance of rest areas, which, in my opinion is rather short-sighted. THIS is an excellent rest area in design and maintenance with one small but easily rectifiable ding .... and that is the playground. It looks like it needs the base removed and refreshed. I'm guessing it had mulch but looks pretty muddy with weeds growing. What parent wants kids taking an energy break in that and then climbing back in the car full of mud. There are many environmentally friendly bases for playgrounds these days. Suggest that the Illinois Department of Transportation use a standard best practice base in all the rest area playgrounds. NOW let's move on to the bathrooms. Great. Great. Great. Design and maintenance. I'm just having to believe they were designed, FINALLY, by women!!! While I don't have expertise in men's bathrooms, I'm convinced that women's bathrooms, overall, have been designed by men AND THEY'RE HORRIBLE. These bathrooms have EXCELLENT design for use by women. NICE JOB, ILLINOIS 🥰 The lobby is very nice incorporating the Rte 66 history through Illinois. I almost missed a couple features of that 》》the features embedded in the brickwork going into the bathrooms AND the overhead banners. Included in my photos here. Regarding safety, I felt very safe here. I noticed remote safety cameras throughout the rest area. I also observed what APPEARS to be severe weather warning devices. Makes sense for this area of the country. The lobby has many glass windows but I surmise the bathrooms would be a good place to take shelter in the event of an impending tornado. That should be another recommendation for the Illinois Dept of Transportation: prominently post sheltering procedures in the event of a tornado or other severe weather for this area. Other than that .... great rest area. Thank you. There is a very large open space for activity. Plenty of picnic tables, sheltered and unsheltered. An area to walk dogs. 60 spots for 4-wheel vehicles. GREAT REST AREA DESIGN AND MAINTENANCE

Cris Johnson (Cris J)

Decently clean. Not much of a selection in the vending machines though.

Iliya Ivanov

Very good place for take a brake .

Kacey Gonzales

Very informative place! Clean! Smells very beautiful!