Chicago Warning or Danger Tips by J_lynch

Just know where you are going and how to get there before traveling around town. Don't rely on other people to tell you which train or bus to take. However, if you do need info, the best people to ask are the bus drivers. Too often I hear random people on the street giving incorrect infoto tourists ( not on purpose, the people giving the info are probably also tourists). Most of Chicago is relatively safe. The more people around the better. If you really need to know if you have stumbled into a wrong area or not, just look at what kind of cars are parked on the steet. For the most part, downtown and North of the City are perfectly fine at night. Although the loop area of downtown can get kind of dark and empty at night on weekdays, there are usually plenty of city construction crews and taxis that keep things from getting too quiet. I used to go home from work in the loop at 3am and never had a problem standing on the street waiting for a bus or taxi.

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Parking. Make sure you pay close attention to the parking signs. DOn't think you can get away with parking illegally for just a few minutes. Towing companies are paid by how many people the tow, so they are usually just around the corner waiting to tow you. It's pretty expensive and a big hassle to get your car out of the impound lot (~ $150). I've had a sister that was parked for about ten minutes in one spot and was towed. WHile they were trying to figure out what happend to their car, another car illegally parked in the same spot for a few minutes and was also towed! Two cars in a half hour from the same spot.

Also, be careful of the rates that the downtown parking lots charge. A lot of the rates posted are only 'early bird' rates which only apply if you park before a particular hour of the day.

The best bet for parking is the Monroe parking lot below Grant Park (between Madison and Monroe and about a block East of Michicago Ave). The rate have recently went up, but it's usually ~ $8 for all day parking. The Grant Park lot (about a block closer to michigan) is similar, but it costs a few dollars extra. I always park the Monroe lot since it's cheap, for the entire day and is a self park lot.

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