Transportation
Fermilab is about 40 miles west of downtown Chicago in Batavia. The nearest airports are Chicago's O'Hare (ORD) and Midway (MDW). Transportation to and from ORD or MDW is available by limousine, taxi or car rental. There is no public transportation to Fermilab. If you will be driving please follow the link to http://www.fnal.gov/pub/visiting/hours/index.html
All of the usual rental companies (Hertz, Avis, Budget, National, etc.) are located at the airports. For the best price, we recommend Ace Rent-a-Car at O'Hare Airport, telephone 1-800-243-3443 or 847-297-3350, as their prices are competitive and include the cost of insurance.
Limousine Service
Reservations for limousine service should be made in advance when possible. West Suburban Limousine: 1-800-345-LIMO or 630-668-9600. For pickup instructions after your arrival at O'Hare Airport or Midway Airport, call 1-800-942-LIMO. For the rate, please see http://www.westsublimo.com/rates.htm
GroundLink: +1-877-227-7260 or
http://www.groundlink.com/airport/ord/generic/limoservice.html?gclid=CLLy5s2_8KsCFUfsKgodUGfK6g
Taxi companies near Pheasant Run Resort:
http://www.besttaxicabco.com/
http://www.001choicecab.com/
Train service from Downtown Chicago:
As noted above, we strongly encourage an airport limousine, a taxi, or a rental car to travel from the Chicago area airports. Although it is possible in principle to take a train (plus taxi) from Chicago O'Hare or Chicago Midway, in practice, it takes about 3 hours, since there is no direct train service from the airports to Batavia, Illinois (where Fermilab is) or St. Charles, Illinois (where the hotel is). In contrast, an airport limousine, a taxi, or a rental car takes about 45 minutes.
That said, if you are staying a few days before or after the conference in downtown Chicago, taking the train is direct and quite reasonable.
The Chicago suburbs are served from downtown Chicago by a rail system called Metra (http://www.metrarail.com). Note that these are all commuter trains, with lots of local stops. During rush hour not all trains stop at all stations, so check the schedule. There are no ticket machines (old fashioned), so buy at the ticket window in the station or on board the train. Train fare from downtown Chicago is under $10.
To travel from downtown Chicago to the hotel, take the Pacific West Line that leaves from the Ogilvie station (Madison & Canal street in Chicago, across the river from the Opera House), and get off at the Geneva, Illinois station. There are often taxis at the Geneva station, but, if there are none when you arrive, call Fox Cab (Tel: 1-630-587-8822; WWW: http://www.besttaxicabco.com/) or 001 Choice Cab (Tel: 1-630-232-4302; WWW: http://www.001choicecab.com/). The taxi fare from the Geneva Station to the hotel is about $15-$20.
To travel from downtown Chicago to Fermilab, you can either follow the above instructions for the train and taxi to the hotel, or you can take the BNSF line that leaves from Union Station (Jackson & Canal street, a few blocks south of Ogilvie) and get off at the Route 59 Station. For the Route 59 station, you should be able to call Naperville Taxi (Tel: 1-630-355-5959) a half hour before arriving and they will meet you. The taxi fare from the Route 59 station to the lab is about $15-$20.
http://www-ppd.fnal.gov/conf-w/UsefulLinks.htm
Public Events at Fermilab
http://www.fnal.gov/pub/events/index.html
Chicago Public Events
http://chicago.eventguide.com/months/12apr.htm
Weather at Fermilab and Surrounding Area
http://www.wunderground.com/US/IL/Batavia.html?bannertypeclick=big2
The Bus Schedule is posted here(NEW).