I've been back down here since 2006 and just did my first November ice fishing since then this morning. Nothing local was thick enough to walk, but I found a couple river backwaters up in Kankakee County that were doable, so I hit one from about 6:30-8am.
Edges were obviously very sketchy, so it took quite a bit of poking around to find a spot to walk on. Out away from the edges I found a decent sized patch that was 3-3.5" Bite was nil, but it was fun just to get to go so early. I could feel it softening up once the sun got above the treetops, so I got out of there. Highs are forecast in the mid 50s, so it will likely all be back to open water in a day or two.
Main river had a fair bit of ice floating around, too.
