Travel safety in Chicago?
 

I'm looking for advice from Chicago locals or frequent travelers. I'll be in Chicago in a few weeks and plan to stay in one of the Western suburbs and take the "L" into town. Is there any reason for me to be concerned about those plans? (i.e. Is the "L" safe after dark?) Also, I have plans to check out Navy Pier and may stay in town for the fireworks, etc. Can you give me any advice on areas to avoid? Any tidbits would be appreciated! Thanks!

The South Side of Chicago, the baddest part of town...

I would avoid that. Otherwise, for the most part, the L is safe, or Metra, but that doesn't have as many trains after dark.

From the Western burbs I'm almost sure you would need to take the train in. I know my son took one from Westmont for a couple of years that was perfectly safe.

Look at the Metra lines available to the area or suburb that will be your planned lodging location.

I live S / SW and a good 2/3rds of the people who live in Chicago, live Southside, S or SW.

I'm not big on taking trains at night anywhere- but I'm sure the trains to the Western suburbs are safe enough- but I'm wondering how many of them there are per day.

I'm pretty sure numerous, numerous to some burbs and not so many to others.

You can get on the L beginning in Forest Park, which is a western suburb.

The Metra train goes all the way out to Elburn now. The latest train back leaving Chicago is at 1:40 a.m. M-F and 12:40 a.m. Sat & Sun.

Is there a reason you are staying way west instead of downtown where you want to be? Relatives or friends with free accomodations? Work? Taking the EL or Metra is a workable option but it is really kind of a pain.

First, thank you to those of you who have responded. I appreciate your input.

We're planning on staying out West only because it's more affordable than staying downtown. We'll be arriving in town either Friday or Saturday afternoon and will just do some sightseeing, then Sunday we're heading to the Bears game. The Western suburbs, making use of the L, seemed like a workable solution.

Can you tell us where you're actually staying so we can help further? There are a few Metra lines so you might want to narrow it down. (I take the BNSF, one of the Metra lines).

What's your price range for hotels?

Unless you're on a very tight budget, and really don't mind traveling that much every day while on vacation, I would suggest considering staying in the city.

And yeah the more information about which suburb you're staying in, the better travel info can be provided.

Priceline is great for hotels in Chicago right now- with the colder weather months coming on.

If you do a search for that here "Chicago Priceline" you will get some very recent threads on how to get right lodgings right on Michigan Ave. -off the River- downtown for about $99 or less a day- regardless of day of the week.

1 or 2 to 3 day stays work the best-if you are interested, bid 4 star.

Most of the winners stay right on the River at the Hyatt- but you can't go wrong for a fraction of the price of the rack rate.

Train/el will cost- and your time may be worth it. There are added costs and you can't park a car for less than $24 to $48 a day easily- so that alone could make you stay Western burbs, IMHO.

The Metra has a $5 Weekend Pass, good all day Sat & Sun, both days, both ways. You really can't beat that.

Agree, if you tell us which suburb or at least what general area besides just Western suburb, you could get more specific answers on Chicago transportation options.

Think of it this way...if you stayed downtown, you'd save a few bucks on L or Metra fares, not to mention a whole lot of time. Chicago is a great city to get around on foot.

With the Metra, you are bound by their schedules. What if you end up someplace that you want to stay at late, but the last train leaves at a certain time? Now you have to cough up cab fare.

Or, you forget something in your hotel room?

I don't particularily care for the Blue line going south and west. The Lake Street line goes through some pretty rough areas and ends in Oak Park, which really isn't a western suburb (it borders the west end of Chicago).

The Orange Line (to Midway) isn't too bad, but again, you're not going to end up in any western 'burbs.

Riding any of theses lines after a Bears game would be a nightmare, with all the drunks. Also, if you're not used to dealing with panhandlers, certain L lines have more than their share (Red, blue, orange, purpledlers,

If you're worried about saving money, you can save on breakfast and lunch and splurge on dinner. There are several grocery stores in the Michigan Ave area, so you can pick up food for breakfast and make a picnic lunch. There's a Jewel at Grand & State; a Dominicks at Grand & Columbus; and a Trader Joe's at Ontario & Rush.

Don't waste a lot of precious time on the train, stay in the city.

Thanks again for all the great advice!

We're looking at staying in Oakbrook Terrace and taking the blue line into the city. We've decided we're coming in on Saturday, so only staying one night, although I do want to go into the city on Saturday evening and then again, of course, on Sunday for the game.

A friend recently used Priceline or Expedia to bid on a hotel and had a great experience. That might be something to consider.

Forgot to answer the question about budget...I think we'd like to stay below $125 if possible.

Did I read that if I go through something like Expedia or Priceline, etc. that I can't specify one bed or two?? Can anyone confirm that?

w10369, I hate to burst your bubble, but the CTA blue line's last stop is Forest Park, which is a good 10-15 miles east of Oakbrook. Also, I'm pretty sure Metra doesn't have a stop there either. I believe the closest you'd be able to get would be Hindsdale, about 5-6 miles away. You'd have to call Metra to be sure.

Out there, cabs are not on every corner. You'd have to call for one and then wait.

Renting a car would be a nightmare since the Eisenhower Expressway (I-290 west) is always jammed and is particularily bad on the weekends.

For the time and aggravation you'll save, I would look into Priceline and stay in the city. I've used it several times and have been lucky.

If you've never used it before, check out Betterbidding.com. It's a great sight to help with Priceline and Hotwire. Read some of the posts under the Chicago thread on Betterbidding.com and you'll get a better idea on how much to start your bid.

Check out the area that you want to stay in and look at the hotels available for bidding. Their star levels are listed. I always pick 4 stars. When bidding, make sure that you DO NOT pick an area that you absolutely don't want to stay in, because once a bid is accepted, you can't cancel.

Unlike Hotwire, you know that if you win a bid, the hotel will be one of their partner hotels. For example, if you want to stay at a 4 star hotel in the Michigan Ave area and the only 4 stars are the Hyatt, Westin & Hilton, you know that you are bidding for a room at one of these hotels and nowhere else.

Hotwire just tells you that you can get a 4 star room in the area, but you don't know what hotels they have partnerships with.

Pick the Millennium Park, North Michigan Ave., or Lincoln Park (it's a bit north of Michicgan Ave, but has good public transportation options) areas to bid. Do not pick either airports, Skokie or the Greater Chicago areas. Your transportation options become more limited because they are quite a ways from Chicago.

You can't specify bed preferences when you bid, but should be able to request it once you check in. I did just that when I was in San Francisco 3 weeks ago.

I hope this helps with your decision making.

I'll second Blacknight's comments. Oakbrook Terrace will be an extremely difficult place to stay and use public transportation - you will need access to a vehicle to make this work.

I will have my vehicle there. I'll be driving into town but then was thinking it would be better to stay on the outskirts and use public transportation the rest of the way. I did see that the blue line only goes as far as Forest Park and that I'd have to drive there. The more I hear all of you talk about it, the more I would like to try the Priceline thing and stay in the city. The only concern then is the expense of parking. Looks like that's an additional $40-50 per night, but would solve the issue of what to do with my vehicle during the Bears game. I could just take the trolley to Roosevelt and walk the rest of the way. Sounds like they will run that close on game days. Now, I just have to convince my travel companion that this is the best route to consider! :)

On the rare occassions I have driven to Chicago, I parked at Midway Airport and took the train down town. (Reasonable parking rate and it avoids down town driving) The Hotel I liked has sold out, but it is now Holiday Express.

I live across the street from Oakbrook Terrace. I'm not at all sure that staying out here would be cost effective. Since you're driving to the area, as JJ5 said, it probably comes down to what you might be able to find on Priceline and what it would cost you to park downtown.

However, I have to jump in to say that Hinsdale is not the closest Metra line to Oakbrook Terrace. There is a line that runs from Chicago (Ogilvie Transportation Center) to Elburn and has stops in Elmhurst, Villa Park and Lombard. I know this because my husband takes it to work downtown every day.

From the Villa Park stop, it's an approximately 40 minute commute. You can park at the train station. But you'd need to either get there very early (before the commuters) or wait until after 9:00 when you can legally park on nearby residential streets.

Safety would not be a concern. But you're going to have to really think about how much of every day you'd be spending getting back and forth. And how dependent you'd be on the Metra schedule.

While the el does run more frequently, as Blacknight said, it's a 20 to 30 minute drive (if traffic is good) to the Blue Line. And safety would be more of a concern. Parking there on weekdays can be a challenge too.

If you were staying with friends or family, I'd say staying out here was a good idea. But since you're going to be paying for a hotel either way, I think you really need to think about this.

Thanks CAPH52! Gosh, this is becoming more of an issue than I ever thought it would be! It's amazing all the things that need to be taken into consideration when choosing a place to stay! One advantage I might have going for me is that we'll be arriving on Saturday afternoon and will be leaving on Sunday after the Bears game, so we shouldn't have to worry about fighting the weekday traffic. You've definitely given me some things to consider though. I thought that staying out in the suburbs and catching the L would be simple and convenient. Hmmm... decisions, decisions...! :)

Well, just to throw a little more into your mix...! :S-

Being here on a weekend would mean parking at the train station would be much easier. However, there are fewer trains running on the weekends.

Good luck making your decision. And I hope you have a great trip whatever you decide!