I think Princess may be suggesting that the OP stay home or visit another city.

We used Spothero last year when we visited Chicago. Still not cheap to park but about 60% of what the hotel would have charged.

Come on, guys. Don't kill the messenger. These are all things which anyone needs to research first before making a decision on what to do.

You are the ones wanting to bring a car into a major metropolitan area, where the norm is public transportation. Doing so means that you are going to pay for that privilege/luxury.

There are three options available:

1) Leave the car at home (hopefully, with someone keeping an eye out for it - as well as their residence, which I assume they usually do) and take public transportation all the way into Chicago;

2) Drive the car a portion of the way and take public transportation the remainder into the city. This is where you have to do your homework - and a lot of it, as I stated above. Of course, there are quite a few lots now where you still have to pay for parking, although maybe not as much. On the other hand, they may not have the same level of security as some place in Chicago.

3) Drive the car to Chicago and park it in the city. You'll have to pay - how much depends on where; the security level of the parking facility; if you get valet and/or in/out privileges; and so forth.

<Do you honestly expect an insurance agent that lives 8 hours from Chicago to provide relevant advice on where to park?>

No. You are asking them to provide advice to you on what type of ***security*** you should be researching in a parking facility IF you decide to drive somewhere and park that vehicle. Fencing and lighting is pretty low on the deterrent level. The benefits of covered garages vs. lots, manned or unmanned facilities and so forth. Of course, the likelihood is that the more security you receive, the higher the price for parking.

<Ummm...because businesses reserve their lots for customers, not commuters. And municipalities don't want cars sitting on their streets for extended periods as it clogs up parking for residents. This is not unique to Chicago.>

Nope. Crime. When I say "municipalities" and "businesses", I was specifically referring to whoever/whatever controls/operates the parking facilities near these METRA stations under that term, since that was what we were specifically discussing at that point in the thread.

<I think Princess may be suggesting that the OP stay home or visit another city.>

Nope. But I AM suggesting that people don't do something foolish or downright harmful to themselves by being too lazy to do the proper research ahead of time.

Let me stress that there are NO guarantees but by proper research, you can lessen the chances that something bad might happen.

I do in fact want to visit Chicago. I also don't know what good calling my local Arkansas Progressive agent would get me, they certainly do not know where to park. But the purpose of the question has certainly been successful. I have a few options to park ( at my own risk) and a few hotels that offer free parking, and a few that have pay to park option while be it expensive.

Thank you all again for your suggestions and in particular the ohiohousemotel.com suggestion, I'll call them for sure and check into that. I'll also look into flying....

Sorry, I see that I forgot to mention under #3 that you have to do your research there, too, as well as with #2.

Whatever the OP - or anyone else - does is their own decision.

rachellynn, sorry, I didn't see your response until just now.

See my reply in the response above yours about different types of parking security.

People who haven't or don't live in metropolitan area are often unaware of the different options and what they mean.

@ rachellyn99: And don't forget the Best Western River North hotel, which also offers free parking. This isn't a bad location at all, but I don't know how the rooms are.
http://www.rivernorthhotel.com

But Citylight's recco is a good one. Find the hotel you want to stay at, and use spot hero or the Millenium Park garages to stash the car. Parking is pricey, but there are two of you and you're saving on a flight, so that should make you feel better.

If it were me, I'd book a mid-priced hotel in River North somewhere (Four Points Sheridan, the Kinzie, Acme Hotel, Holiday Inn Express mag mile, etc.), drop off your bags and park in the Millenium Park garage.

If you'd like a budget/nice neighborhood option, you might consider staying in Lincoln Park at the Days Inn and parking in the Century Mall for $24. This is right in my neighborhood so it seems quite comfortable to me. Starbucks, TRader Joe's, Walgreens, Wao Bow, within a block or so.

This would give you a real neighborhood feel and easy bus rides down to the city (via the 151 Sheridan bus or the 22 Clark or 36 Broadway). A really nice walk is from Diversey through Lincoln Park (North Pond area), through the zoo, past South Pond, and picking up the 151 Broadway the rest of the way to Michigan Ave (and past Millenium Park, and very close to the Art Institute). Also, in the summer, there is a really nice, Saturday morning Farmer's market at the sound end of Lincoln Park. I think that would be a nice (more chill) weekend plan, too.

Obviously, not walking out your hotel door and having all the skyscrapers about you, though, which may be what you want.

Good luck planning! Chicago is such a great city in warm weather, I'm sure you'll have a good time.