Chicago, IL (and outer area) public transportation?

My fiancé and I are going to Chicago Feb. 2nd and we're arriving via Amtrak at the Union Station. We need to get from the Amtrak Union Station/House of Blues area to Prospect Heights, IL. The (Utada) concert we're going to *should* be done by around 10:30-11PM and we need to find a way to get to out hotel in Prospect Heights, IL, about 25-30 minutes outside of Chicago.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

You won't be able to take CTA (Chicago's public transportation) all the way out there. I might be wrong though. Maybe a Pace Bus once you get outside the city, but I'm not sure. I'm thinkin' your best bet may be a taxi, but I'm not familiar with that area. If you are going to be in Chicago for a few days, be aware that 5 days later (Feb. 7) the CTA are being a bunch of dickheads and cutting service and eliminating a few Express buses. I don't know how long to plan to stay, but just a heads up if you plan on using public transportation if you're staying a few more days. This probably didn't help you at all, but I tried.

Also, get a few one day bus passes (about $5.75 each). It's cheaper than paying each time you ride the bus/train, and you can use them as many times as you want within a 24 hour period.

[quote name='Blackout']You won't be able to take CTA (Chicago's public transportation) all the way out there. I might be wrong though. Maybe a Pace Bus once you get outside the city, but I'm not sure. I'm thinkin' your best bet may be a taxi, but I'm not familiar with that area. If you are going to be in Chicago for a few days, be aware that 5 days later (Feb. 7) the CTA are being a bunch of dickheads and cutting service and eliminating a few Express buses. I don't know how long to plan to stay, but just a heads up if you plan on using public transportation if you're staying a few more days. This probably didn't help you at all, but I tried.

Also, get a few one day bus passes (about $5.75 each). It's cheaper than paying each time you ride the bus/train, and you can use them as many times as you want within a 24 hour period.[/QUOTE]

We're actually only staying one night. We would have rented a car but it would be for 2 days and for the price, a waste. Thanks for trying. The CTA site is garbage. I'm hoping I can find something. I would imagine a taxi from the house of blues to Prospect Heights would cost quite a bit.

[quote name='SynGamer']We're actually only staying one night. We would have rented a car but it would be for 2 days and for the price, a waste. Thanks for trying. The CTA site is garbage. I'm hoping I can find something. I would imagine a taxi from the house of blues to Prospect Heights would cost quite a bit.[/QUOTE]

If you're only staying one day then maybe a taxi would be the way to go, but that would probably kill your wallet. Post in the Chicago thread in the Midwest section and I'm sure you'll get a lot more help.

It's too bad you're only staying one night. If you think the CTA website is garbage, you should see the actual service.

Metra is what you'll want to check. The North Central Service goes from Antioch to Union Station, and reverse.
http://metrarail.com/content/metra/...jcr_content/pdfLink/file.res/NCS Schedule.pdf
The problem is that it won't take you out at 10:30. 8:30 is when it pulls out, at least according to the schedule. The Union Pacific Northwest line runs through Mount Prospect, but I'm not sure how close your hotel would be.

Doc Bacca is right that you want Metra if you're heading out to the suburbs. The Union Pacific Northwest Metra line runs later, and it stops in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect (both right next to Prospect Heights). From the Metra website (www.metrarail.com), it looks like that line runs at 10:30, 11:30, and 12:30 on weeknights. That should give you time to book it to Ogilvie Transportation Center (on Madison & Canal, right next to Union Station) after the concert is over. You will still have to arrange some kind of transportation from the Arlington Heights/Mount Prospect Metra station to your hotel (cab or shuttle), but it should be a hell of a lot cheaper this way.

I haven't lived in the Chicago area for a couple of years, so someone please correct me if this is way off base.

[quote name='IvanHood']Doc Bacca is right that you want Metra if you're heading out to the suburbs. The Union Pacific Northwest Metra line runs later, and it stops in Arlington Heights and Mount Prospect (both right next to Prospect Heights). From the Metra website (www.metrarail.com), it looks like that line runs at 10:30, 11:30, and 12:30 on weeknights. That should give you time to book it to Ogilvie Transportation Center (on Madison & Canal, right next to Union Station) after the concert is over. You will still have to arrange some kind of transportation from the Arlington Heights/Mount Prospect Metra station to your hotel (cab or shuttle), but it should be a hell of a lot cheaper this way.

I haven't lived in the Chicago area for a couple of years, so someone please correct me if this is way off base.[/QUOTE]

Thanks, that pretty much fixed our problems of getting to the hotel after the concert. Everything else shouldn't be a problem.