Those wishing to stay at Loop/downtown hotels should NOT be deterred by
reports of "no vacancies." Keith Schlesinger reports that a representative of
the Bed & Breakfast Registry told him that since there are no penalties for
not honoring reservations, there are always rooms available in the Loop. The
expensive rooms are released in the morning, the cheaper rooms in the
afternoon and evening. If you are willing to go down to the Loop the day of the
conference and go to any hotel, the management will find you a room, either
at their hotel or somewhere else. Please be aware that Loop accomodations
are likely to be expensive! If cost is no object, then you should not be
deterred by not having an advance reservation.
Conference organizers recommend you look into motels located along major
transportation lines in the south and southwest sides of Chicago and
suburbs. If you are driving in, or plan to rent a car, this is a very good and
much less expensive alternative to the Loop.
NOTE: The METRA commuter train offers a $5 weekend pass, good from
midnight Friday/Sat. thru Sun/Mon. midnight on any train line. It can be
purchased from any conductor. This makes access to some south suburban
motels fairly easy and quite inexpensive.
Several rooms at outlying motels have been reserved for the Conference, and
some are still available. Each room is booked for Friday and Sat. nights, but
this can be adjusted as needed.
IMPORTANT: Call Keith Schlesinger 24 hours a day at 773-451-3593 to
obtain a room. You must call Keith no later than 12 NOON on Friday,
November 6th. Keith's voice mail is password protected and entirely secure.
You should give Keith the following information:
-- your name as it appears on a major credit card (VISA, MasterCard, Amex,
Novus)
-- card type,
-- account number
-- month/year of expiration
-- phone numbers where you can be reached
Keith will use this to switch the reservation from his own account to yours.
He will erase information as he records it off voice mail and physically
destroy all records at 6 PM Friday Nov. 6th.
If you do not provide credit card information, Keith must have your name,
home address, and phone numbers where you can be reached, so he can try
to switch the reservation to your name. You can expect to have to call the
motel yourself and complete the arrangements and provide credit card info.
THE CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS
APPROACH, BECAUSE IT IS MUCH LESS LIKELY THAT YOU WILL
SUCCEED IN GETTING A ROOM PROPERLY BOOKED IN ADVANCE.
KEITH SCHLESINGER CAN BE TRUSTED, PROBABLY MORE SO THAN
MOTEL MANAGERS WHO YOU WILL HAVE TO GIVE THE SAME KIND
OF CREDIT CARD INFORMATION.
PLEASE DO NOT CALL TO BOOK YOUR OWN ROOM AT THE
FOLLOWING MOTELS BEFORE CALLING KEITH!!!
Fairfield Inn at Midway Airport
6630 S. Cicero Ave
15 minutes by car from the conference
30-45 minutes by rapid transit
Each room has 2 double beds for a normal capacity of 4 people
Rollaway free, but availability limited and unpredictable.
Cost: $120/night + tax
checkout: 12 noon
Red Roof Inn, Lansing / South Chicago
2450 E. 173rd St., Interstate 80 at exit 161
35-45 minutes from conference by car
Short cab ride to South Shore commuter rail (Hegewich Station), then about
20 minutes to 59th/U. Chicago station, about 6 blocks from conference sites.
Each room has 2 doubles (occupancy 4) or 1 King (occupancy 2)
rollaway $5/night, must be booked in advance.
Cost: $53/night
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Other motels accessible to the Conference by car or transit:
You can call and make your own arrangements with these establishments.
All report having rooms available.
Super-8 Motel, 12808 S. Ashland Ave, Calumet Park
Interstate 57, exit 353 (127th St)
708-385-9100
$70/night for a room with 2 twin beds (occupancy 2)
20 minutes by car via Dan Ryan (I-94) to conference
Transit: METRA Blue Island line commuter train from Ashland Ave. station
(near 124th St., about 4 blocks north of motel) to 59th/U. of Chicago station,
4-6 blocks from conference locations.
Excel Inn, 9625 S. 76th Ave, Bridgeview
Tristate Tollway (I-294), exit 22
708-430-1818
about 5 rooms left
$75/night + tax for 2 double beds (occupancy 4)
Transit: PACE bus #381 (95th St) to Red Line, #63 bus (63rd St) (see transit
information for how to get from #63 bus to the conference)
Budgetel Inn, 17225 S. Halsted, South Holland
708-596-8700 or 800-428-3438 for national reservations
25-30 double rooms (occupancy 4)
Cost: $60 / night plus tax
no rollaways
Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Halsted St. exit
Transit: 5-minute cab to Hazel Crest METRA Electric Line train station, or
PACE #370 bus to Harvey station, then direct to 59th/U. Chicago station, 4-6
blocks from Conference sites.
Budgetel Inn, 12801 S. Cicero, Alsip
Tristate Tollway (I-294), Cicero Ave. exit
708-597-3900 or 800-428-3438 for national reservations
50 rooms: 15 doubles (occupancy 4), 35 king (occupancy 2)
no rollaways
cost: $77/night including tax
30 minutes from conference by car:
Transit: cab or PACE #383 bus to Oak Forest METRA station. Tell the
station agent or conductor you want to go to 59th/Univ. of Chicago station.
