ILLINOIS ROUTE 66. One travels more to the south than west on Illinois 66, and I've often wondered why a road to Los Angeles would begin in Chicago. New York or some other major east coast city would have provided a true coast to coast route, and a more Southern, non-coastal city like Atlanta would have provided a much more direct road to Santa Monica. I'm sure, though, that at least one of the original planners benefited from the chosen route, as Cyrus Avery did by having 66 pass right by his roadside businesses in Tulsa!