Gillespie is a city in Macoupin County, Illinois, United States, and part of the Metro East region of the St. Louis metropolitan area.

[3] The first group of settlers arrived to the area of Gillespie in the late 1820s from Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana.

[4] For years, Gillespie's main source of employment were the multiple coal mines scattered throughout the township operated by the Chicago & Northwestern Railway.

Illinois Routes 4 and 16 pass through Gillespie, joining in the center of town as East Elm Street.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Gillespie has a total area of 1.48 square miles (3.83 km2), all land.

To the northwest are Old and New Gillespie Lakes, reservoirs on the Dry Fork of Macoupin Creek, a west-flowing tributary of the Illinois River.

The two lakes are 3 to 5 miles (4.8 to 8.0 km) northwest of the city, and many people from surrounding towns enjoy fishing, boating, water-skiing and sunbathing there.

The city of Gillespie provides police protection for the neighboring communities of Benld, Mount Clare, and Eagarville.