Intended to merge or purchase railroads that had built lines between the southern suburbs of Chicago and Terre Haute, Indiana through Danville, Illinois, the C&EI constructed a new line from Chicago to a Mississippi River connection in extreme southern Illinois at Thebes.

The first repair shops for locomotives and cars were built on the west side of the city in 1877 at the intersection of East Fairchild and Section Streets.

Expansion of the railroad in the early 1900s led to the near doubling of the shop capacity just a few years later, at which point about 1,200 people were employed there.

The C&EI spun off a variety of their lines, including the "Coal Road" (which became the Chicago, Attica and Southern Railroad).

The C&EI did not survive the Great Depression intact, entering bankruptcy in 1933, re-emerging just before World War II in 1940.

The route from Woodland Junction, Illinois through Danville into Indiana became part of L&N and its successors (now CSX), while the western fork toward Thebes and St. Louis became MoPac/UP.

The C&EI's sole remaining train was the two and a half hour Chicago - Danville, Illinois Danville-Chicago Flyer.