The following is the route that Steve could have taken if he wanted to take the fastest route to delivery including the stop at the Racetrac truck stop in Emerson, Georgia. The drawback of this route is it has more road changes than the route that Steve took and more low level back roads.
This is the delivery route that Steve took from Manteno, IL to Rockmount, GA
This is the deadhead route that truckrouter.com recommended on the fastest route setting.
The following is the deadhead route that Steve took from Belvidere to Manteno