Chapter XIV includes an account of the Illinois River.

Printed by order of the Senate of the United States, 19th Congress, 1st Session.

2nd edition.

With special reference to the effect of sewage of Chicago on the Des Plaines and Illinois Rivers prior to and after the opening of the Chicago Drainage Canal.

Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, v. VI, Article 1.

Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, v. VIII, article 1

Bulletin of the Illinois State Laboratory of Natural History, v. IX, article 10

Appendix VI to the Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Fisheries for 1913.
Reports on survey of the mussel fisheries of the Illinois River in the summers of 1907-1912.

Bulletin of the Illinois Natural History Survey, v. XIII, article 6.

INHS Bulletin volume 15 article 5.
Reports on cooperative work of the INHS and the ISWS on Peoria Lake as part of the Illinois River system, and reports on impact of Chicago stockyard activity on the bottom fauna. Hydrography and dissolved oxygen are also discussed.

Volume 2
Volume 3

Revised edition of the report prepared for the National water resources survey of the National resources committee, 1936-1937

Illinois State Water Survey Report of Investigation no. 1
Data are presented on the temperature and turbidity of river water at six stations along the Illinois, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. These data are analyzed to show the periods year by year in which certain limiting conditions exist, both as to temperature and turbidity respectively, and
also to determine the correlation of these phenomena within certain limited ranges. The trend in temperature and turbidity variations along the Mississippi River is indicated, and comparative data are offered for all stations.

From the "Rivers of America" series for young people, this book by a long-time technical editor of the Illinois Natural History Survey covers the river's pre-history and history. The work is in copyright and online access is not available, but there are copies available to borrow in the University Library and I-Share.

INHS Bulletin 30, no. 5

River toxicants included aldrin, undissociated ammonia (ammonia₍ᵤ₎), arsenic, cadmium, hexavalent and trivalent chromium, copper, cyanide, fluoride, linear alkylate sulfonate (LAS), lead, mercury, phenols, and zinc. Component toxicities at different locations on the river were summed to produce the toxicity index, or total toxicity, of the river. Mean toxicity indices developed during field tests, in which bluegills were exposed directly to river water, and the lack of mortality at these tests, indicated that the Illinois River is not normally acutely toxic to fish.

ISWS Report of Investigation no. 79. Reports low dissolved oxygen levels due to carbon, nitrogen, and sediment inputs, and bacteria exceeding Illinois Pollution Control Board requirements at most sampling sites.

Technical report prepared for the Chicago District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers by researchers at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 90-375
The availability and suitability of existing information on municipal wastewater-treatment practices and effluent characteristics for use in a national water-quality assessment were evaluated. The information will be used to determine the effects of changes in wastewater-treatment practices on stream quality and ecosystem health. A large amount of information on treatment practices and effluent characteristics exists, and some of this information is available from Federal and State computer data bases. However, the suitability of existing information to accomplish the objectives of a national water-quality assessment is limited. The suitability of this information would be improved by (1) increasing the number of water-quality constituents routinely analyzed for in samples of municipal effluent, (2) increasing the frequency of effluent sampling at some facilities, (3) developing a quality-assurance plan for wastewater flow-rate determinates, and (4) increasing the amount of effluent water-quality data entered into Federal and State computer data bases.

A report prepared for the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources, published as ILENR/RE-WR-92/04. Reports that on average 13.8 million tons of sediment was delivered to the Illinois River valley annually, and the average annual outflow was 5.6 million tons of sediment, leaving on average 8.2 tons deposited annually in the Illinois River valley.

The Illinois River is covered on pp. 402-417, and the Lower Illinois River is covered on pp. 230-243.

Find information about the Illinois River in the following sections: Peoria Wilds (pp. 73-77), Middle Illinois River (pp. 87-92), and Big Rivers (pp. 98-103). The Natural Divisions "Upper Mississippi and Illinois River Bottomlands" and "Illinois and Mississippi Sand Areas" are referenced throughout the inventory.

The Big Rivers assessment covers an area of 1,133,176 acres near the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers.

The Prairie Parklands Area encompasses 25
subbasins along the Illinois, Des Plaines, and Kankakee rivers,

The Illinois River Natural Resources Bibliography is a compilation of over 100 years of research by Illinois Natural History Survey staff as well as other investigators. It contains 559 references pertinent to the biology of the Illinois River and its watershed. Main topics covered include ecology, biology, chemistry, hydrology, and history of the Illinois River system.
However, some citations dealing specifically with geology,
policy, and economics are also included. Most references are housed at the Illinois Natural History Survey's main library in Champaign and the library of the Survey's Forbes Biological Station near Havana, Illinois.

The 2001 Illinois River Bluffs Area Assessment encompasses a larger area than that covered in the 1998 edition.

INHS Technical Report 2023 (08)
Examines progress in aquatic life goals in relation to the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP)

Individuals from all walks of life have devoted their time, energy, and money to restoring the state's lost wetlands. Clare Howard and David Zalaznik take readers into the marshes, bogs, waterways, and swamps brought back to life by these wetland pioneers. Howard's storytelling introduces grassroots conservators dedicated to learning through trial and error, persistence, and listening to the lessons taught by wetlands. They undertake hard work inspired by ever-increasing floods and nutrient runoff, and they reconnect the Earth's natural rhythms. Zalaznik's stunning black and white photos illuminate changes in the land and the people themselves. Seeds sprout after lying dormant for one hundred years. Water winds through ancient channels. Animals and native plants return. As the forgiving spirit of a wetland emerges, it nurtures a renewed landscape that alters our view of the environment and the planet. An inspiring document of passion and advocacy, In the Spirit of Wetlands reveals the transformative power of restoration.

The collaboratively developed Plan contains 34 recommendations and is divided into six sections. In the Corridor addresses the Illinois River and its associated backwater lakes and floodplains. The other sections address issues throughout the watershed: Soil & Water Movement, Agricultural Practices, Economic Development, Local Action, and Education. Each recommendation includes brief summaries of the implementation steps. The plan also identified objectives for measuring the plan's success including biodiversity, restoration water quality standards, natural hydrography, flood flow frequency, economic value, and reduction of sediment. The accompanying technical report contains the full detail of the implementation steps, benefit and cost estimates for many recommendations.

Report to the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois describes "mixed results" and concludes Illinois has "not effectively realized integrated management partly because no single program or entity is specifically charged with regular, detailed evaluation and monitoring of the status and trends throughout the Illinois River Watershed." Recommendations include establishing an inventory of efforts that inform stewardship, maintaining and creating long-term monitoring programs, restoring critical habitats, reducing the negative impact of non-native species, examining and reducing contaminants, assessing groundwater resources and withdrawal impacts on the watershed, and implementing cultural resources protections and inventory.