Illinois 19 runs through the O'Hare, Dunning, Portage Park, Irving Park, North Center and Lake View neighborhoods before ending at a traffic signal beneath Lake Shore Drive (U.S. Route 41).

[8][9] Irving Park Road once ran straight through where O'Hare International Airport's 04R/22L Runway now sits.

Again in 2012, the road was realigned to the south as part of the O'Hare Modernization Plan to build runway 10R/28L.

The intersection is currently fully interconnected to railroad signals for the active Metra Milwaukee District/West Line tracks, creating a situation where vehicles on both roads may be at risk of being hit by oncoming commuter trains.

After the $45 million reconstruction, Irving Park Road would have crossed underneath the railroad tracks further northwest from the current intersection.

[12] The plan was killed in early March 2007 after local opposition to a Division Street extension through property owned by Holy Ghost Church.

The city has since decided to investigate alternative safety measures at the intersection, including the addition of turn lanes and red-light cameras.