Interstate 55 passes through the east side of the village, with access from Exit 145 (U.S. Route 136).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, McLean has a total area of 1.18 square miles (3.06 km2), all land.

[4] Price was born in Chester Valley, Pennsylvania, and was the brother-in-law of Bloomington real estate developer Kersey Fell.

The nearby towns of Atlanta, Normal, and Towanda were laid out at the same time as McLean.

Hope, two miles east of McLean, was established in 1836 by the Providence Farmers and Mechanics Emigrating Society of Rhode Island.

Wheelock, railroad employees, who moved into the new station house to conduct business.

The design was similar to other places along the Alton and Springfield Railroad, including Normal, Towanda, Odell, and Dwight.

The original town was basically a square with streets aligned north–south and east–west, split diagonally by the railroad with a line of lots paralleling either side of the tracks.

As in other towns along the same railroad, there was a widened rectangular area paralleling the tracks labeled "Depot Grounds."

The triangle of land on the northwest side, between the lots paralleling the railroad and remainder of the town, was designated as a public property and is still used as a park.

The line of lots paralleling the tracks and southeast of the railroad became the location of the hotel and the town jail.