Editing Interstate 55 (section)

===Illinois===
{{Main|Interstate 55 in Illinois}}
[[File:Northern_Terminus_of_Interstate_55.jpg|right|thumb|Northern terminus at US&nbsp;41 (Lake Shore Drive) in Chicago]]
Through Illinois, I-55 largely follows the 1940 alignment of the former [[U.S. Route 66|US&nbsp;66]], now Historic US&nbsp;66 (Illinois Route&nbsp;66 Scenic Byway). It runs from the Poplar Street Bridge in [[East St. Louis, Illinois|East St. Louis]] to [[U.S. Route 41|US&nbsp;41]] in Chicago, passing around the state capital of [[Springfield, Illinois|Springfield]] and the metro area of [[Bloomington, Illinois|Bloomington]]–[[Normal, Illinois|Normal]].

Within Illinois, I-55 goes by several names. Near the [[Interstate 270 (Illinois–Missouri)|I-270]]/[[Interstate 70|I-70]] split, it is referred to as the Paul Simon Freeway after former US Senator [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]], who began his political career in this region. Further north, between the St. Louis area and Springfield, I-55 is named the Vince Demuzio Expressway for former Illinois State Senator [[Vince Demuzio]]. Finally, in the Chicago area between the [[Interstate 80|I-80]] interchange near Joliet and I-55's eastern terminus at US&nbsp;41 ([[Lake Shore Drive]]) in [[Chicago]], the expressway is referred to as the '''Adlai E. Stevenson Expressway''' (previously called the '''Southwest Expressway''') in honor of former Illinois governor [[Adlai Stevenson II|Adlai E. Stevenson II]], who was a two-time Democratic nominee for President of the United States and also the US Ambassador to the [[United Nations]] under Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. In July&nbsp;2018, the stretch of I-55 from [[Interstate 294|I-294]] to milemarker&nbsp;202 near Pontiac was renamed as '''Barack Obama Presidential Expressway''', after former President [[Barack Obama]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nprillinois.org/post/illinois-highway-be-named-after-barack-obama|title=Illinois Highway To Be Named After Barack Obama|last=Mackey|first=Brian|access-date=2018-08-15|language=en}}</ref>

When the stretch of I-55 through Illinois was being planned during the 1960s, the state's governor, [[Otto Kerner Jr.]], made an effort to have it routed close to the larger city of [[Peoria, Illinois|Peoria]] instead of the straighter route through the Bloomington–Normal area. This ultimately failed plan was ridiculed in the press as the so-called "Kerner Curve". The need for a freeway connection between Springfield and Peoria was later filled by the spur route [[Interstate 155 (Illinois)|I-155]]. This also connects with nearby [[Lincoln, Illinois|Lincoln]] and [[Morton, Illinois|Morton]] and forms a triangle between the three population centers in [[Central Illinois]].<ref name="js_20000101">{{cite news |url = http://docs.newsbank.com/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info:sid/iw.newsbank.com:NewsBank:PJSB&rft_val_format=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:ctx&rft_dat=0EB6E83A6403BFAB&svc_dat=InfoWeb:aggregated5&req_dat=AA98CDC331574F0ABEAFF732B33DC0B2 |title = Despite dead-end for I-55's Kerner Curve, I-74 changed area forever |date = January 1, 2000 |access-date = February 17, 2008 |work = [[Peoria Journal-Star]] |via = [[NewsBank]] }}</ref>