Hiya! I am an Illinois resident, junior and and worrying about colleges right now. I know my GPA is very, very low, junior year I was dealing with a lot of stress (the usual I know, just hear me out) and ended with 2 Ds. Senior year I will start with a 2.9 but I know for a fact that I will do much better next year and even got a 34 on my act. I have many ECs including president of model un and MSA, spanish honors society, science olympiad, bpa, AMP and have more than 250+ volunteer hours and am a teacher at a weekend school. I know I can get excellent recommendations as well. Please suggest me some colleges within the Illinois area! Not worrying about any financial aid at this point so any recommendations are appreciated! My top choice is Loyola, but I’m also looking at UIUC, UIC, Indiana U, Purdue, SIU, NIU, North Central, Benedictine, and Depaul. Please chance for any. Also if you ever had or know of anyone who has had a low gpa like mine but got accepted, let me know where they got in!
You said you will start senior year with a 2.9. Is that after you ace whatever is left of your junior year? Don’t give up on what you are doing NOW. It will impact how colleges perceive your application.
I know my limits and the classes I am taking only get harder second semester. My first semester I had many Cs and one 1 D, but with only one quarter of second semester left, I know that I can probably manage somes Bs and some As, and hopefully a C in the class I got a D in (AP physics the hardest class I HAVE EVER TAKEN). I appreciate the concern, but it’s not giving up, it’s being realistic. Theres no way I can get a 72 in a class right now to a 90 in a month but I can get it to an 80 if I work hard 
@wakhan98 My daughter has a close friend who had a tough year that brought her GPA down. She is finishing her senior year with a 3.0. She didn’t have nearly as high of an ACT (25) and DePaul accepted her. She also got accepted at Columbia College as well. She has a great background and is very creative. They saw something in her that is awesome. Keep working hard! With that high ACT score and improved grades you’ll have a good chance. 
For some of those colleges, your desired major and your geographic location (in-state/out-of-state) can make the difference.
My daughter is a junior in IL and her situation is very similar to yours - She also had a tough time with AP Physics and AP Calculus this year. And junior year has been her worst year, grade-wise… Her test score is slightly lower than yours, grades a bit higher, but she is in danger of them slipping to 3.0 ish… So we have been looking at schools that fit criteria similar to yours…
Have you also considered these schools? Ball State, Indiana State, Iowa State, Illinois State, Western IL U (I actually think you qualify for merit money if you can bring your GPA up to a 3.0., but double-check their website.) Augustana College, Elmhurst College (Elmhurst IL), Dominican U (River Forest IL), Augsburg College in Minneapolis, UW Eau Claire, UW LaCrosse, Monmouth College, Hanover College (Hanover IN in southern IN, across the river from Louisville KY), and Northeastern IL in Chgo - historically a commuter campus but they are building dorms that they hope to complete by Fall 2016.
I don’t know what your budget is, or what size campus you’re looking for, but my research indicates you have a good chance with all of the above. Especially if you can bring the GPA up to 3.0. Some of them might even give you a little merit aid, combined with your test score - but I think you gotta get the 3.0 too!
Best of luck to you!
Of the ones you listed, it is my best educated guess - for what it’s worth, - that you have a decent chance at-
UIC,
Indiana (you know their tuition went up to over 33k for OOS, though - and they’re known for being easy to get in and tougher to stay… IU is my alma mater)
NIU
Loyola - your test score combined with better grades in senior first semester might help here.
I’m not familiar with the statistics of incoming freshmen at the others.
UIC values grades over ACT scores. Your GPA is marginal. It is hard to say what they will do. You will only have a chance for acceptance at LAS. You should talk to the admissions counselors at some of these schools.