OT Ice fishing questions

I am in Northern Illinois. We have a small lake nearby.

I would estimate that, after extended cold weather, the ice is at least 15 inches thick.

I have never done ice fishing and I have questions that are pretty basic.

Sorry for the late response...living in Minnesota and having ice fished all my life (more or less) using a steel prybar to cut a hole in 15" of ice would be a lesson in futility. In the first place, fishermen used something called a "spud" when chipping by hand, it has a sharpened edge to chip away the ice. I don't use one if the ice is over 4" or so. One doesn't cut straight down when using a spud, you cut at an angle. So, when you're done, the hole would be about 3 feet in diameter at the top when you're finished chipping. I'd suggest buying a hand crank auger for the job, you should be able to find one for $50 or so.