Time in Illinois (IL), United States 🇺🇸
The current local time in Illinois, United States is anchored on Chicago. The state uses the America/Chicago time zone (UTC -05:00).
Illinois local time
Thursday, 22 October 2026 CDT
State information
Illinois
State of United States
Population: 12,812,508
Code: IL
Time zone
IANA: America/Chicago
UTC offset: -05:00
Daylight saving: Yes — forward 8 March, back 1 November
Country: United States
Time difference across United States
How the clock in Illinois compares with other United States regions on this site. Where the January and July figures differ, only one side observes daylight saving time.
| Region | Time zone | January | July |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | Pacific/Honolulu | −4 h | −5 h |
| Alaska | America/Anchorage | −3 h | −3 h |
| California | America/Los_Angeles | −2 h | −2 h |
| Nevada | America/Los_Angeles | −2 h | −2 h |
| Oregon | America/Los_Angeles | −2 h | −2 h |
| Washington | America/Los_Angeles | −2 h | −2 h |
| Arizona | America/Phoenix | −1 h | −2 h |
| Colorado | America/Denver | −1 h | −1 h |
| Utah | America/Denver | −1 h | −1 h |
| Louisiana | America/Chicago | Same time | Same time |
| Minnesota | America/Chicago | Same time | Same time |
| Tennessee | America/Chicago | Same time | Same time |
| Texas | America/Chicago | Same time | Same time |
| Florida | America/New_York | +1 h | +1 h |
| Georgia | America/New_York | +1 h | +1 h |
| Massachusetts | America/New_York | +1 h | +1 h |
| Michigan | America/Detroit | +1 h | +1 h |
| New York | America/New_York | +1 h | +1 h |
| Pennsylvania | America/New_York | +1 h | +1 h |
Public holidays in Illinois in 2026
16 public holidays apply in Illinois, 4 of them regional (marked below) and not observed across all of United States.
| Date | Holiday | |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 1 Jan | New Year's Day | |
| Mon 19 Jan | Martin Luther King Jr. Day | |
| Thu 12 Feb | Lincoln's Birthday | Regional |
| Mon 16 Feb | Washington's Birthday | |
| Mon 2 Mar | Casimir Pulaski Day | Regional |
| Tue 19 May | Malcolm X Day | Regional |
| Mon 25 May | Memorial Day | |
| Fri 19 Jun | Juneteenth | |
| Fri 3 Jul | Independence Day (substitute day) | |
| Sat 4 Jul | Independence Day | |
| Mon 7 Sept | Labour Day | |
| Mon 12 Oct | Columbus Day | |
| Tue 3 Nov | Election Day | Regional |
| Wed 11 Nov | Veterans Day | |
| Thu 26 Nov | Thanksgiving Day | |
| Fri 25 Dec | Christmas Day |
Illinois vs. major cities
How far Illinois is from the world's main business centres right now, what time it is there when the working day starts in Illinois, and which hours of a 09:00–17:00 day the two places share. Daylight saving changes are applied automatically.
| City | Difference | At 09:00 in Illinois | Shared office hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York · United States | +1 h | 10:00 | 09:00–16:00 |
| Los Angeles · United States | −2 h | 07:00 | 11:00–17:00 |
| São Paulo · Brazil | +2 h | 11:00 | 09:00–15:00 |
| London · United Kingdom | +6 h | 15:00 | 09:00–11:00 |
| Paris · France | +7 h | 16:00 | 09:00–10:00 |
| Johannesburg · South Africa | +7 h | 16:00 | 09:00–10:00 |
| Dubai · United Arab Emirates | +9 h | 18:00 | None |
| Delhi · India | +10:30 h | 19:30 | None |
| Singapore · Singapore | +13 h | 22:00 | None |
| Beijing · China | +13 h | 22:00 | None |
Shared office hours are shown in Illinois time. Compare any set of cities hour by hour in the time zone converter, or pick a slot that suits everyone with the event planner.
Clock changes in Illinois
Illinois has alternated between UTC -06:00 in standard time and UTC -05:00 in daylight saving time since at least 1970. Clocks currently go forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November, a rule in place since 2007.
| Date | Change | Local clock | New offset |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 8 March 2026 | Forward 1 hour | 02:00 → 03:00 | UTC -05:00 |
| Sunday, 1 November 2026 | Back 1 hour | 02:00 → 01:00 | UTC -06:00 |
| Sunday, 14 March 2027 | Forward 1 hour | 02:00 → 03:00 | UTC -05:00 |
| Sunday, 7 November 2027 | Back 1 hour | 02:00 → 01:00 | UTC -06:00 |
When clocks go forward, sunrise and sunset both happen an hour later by the clock — darker mornings, lighter evenings — and the night of the change is an hour shorter. When they go back, the reverse applies.
Source: IANA tz database, as shipped with the Unicode ICU library.
Other cities in the same time zone
Illinois time questions
- What time zone is Illinois in?
- Illinois uses the America/Chicago time zone: UTC -06:00, -05:00 during DST.
- Does Illinois observe daylight saving time?
- Yes. In 2026 clocks go forward on Sunday, 8 March 2026 at 02:00 and go back on Sunday, 1 November 2026 at 02:00.
- How many public holidays does Illinois have in 2026?
- 16 public holidays apply in Illinois in 2026, including 4 that are not on the national list: Lincoln's Birthday (Thursday 12 February), Casimir Pulaski Day (Monday 2 March), Malcolm X Day (Tuesday 19 May), Election Day (Tuesday 3 November).
Explore Illinois
More on Illinois: the country overview, the exact IANA zone, and tools for Chicago.