Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
an ambulance, dial
&
911,
which is a free
call.
INTERNET A CCESS
M any Chicago
hotels have business centers with comput-
ers av ailable for guests ' use. Computers
with I nternet access ar e also av ailable to
the public at the
Harold W ashington
Library Center,
400 S. State St. (
&
312/
747-4300
), and at the Internet cafe inside
the
Apple
computer store, 679 N. Michi-
gan Ave. (
&
312/981-4104
). Most Star-
bucks coffee shops and M cDonald's
restaurants in do wntown Chicago hav e
wireless Internet access available.
LEGAL AID
If you are “pulled over” for
a minor infraction (such as speeding),
never attempt to pay the fine dir ectly to a
police officer; this could be constr ued as
attempted briber y, a much mor e serious
crime. Pay fines b y mail, or dir ectly into
the hands of the cler k of the cour t. I f
accused of a more serious offense, say and
do nothing befor e consulting a lawy er.
Here the burden is on the state to pr ove a
person's guilt bey ond a r easonable doubt,
and ev eryone has the right to r emain
silent, whether he or she is suspected of a
crime or actually arrested. Once arrested, a
person can make one telephone call to a
party of his or her choice. I nternational
visitors should call their embassy or con-
sulate.
LIQUOR LAWS
Most bars and tav erns
have a 2am license, allo wing them to stay
open until 3am S unday (Sat night); some
have a 4am license and may r emain open
until 5am on Sunday.
LOST & FOUND
Be sur e to tell all of
your cr edit car d companies the minute
you discover your wallet has been lost or
stolen, and file a r eport at the near est
police precinct. Your credit card company
or insur er may r equire a police r eport
number or r ecord of the loss. M ost credit
card companies hav e an emergency toll-
free number to call if y our card is lost or
stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash
291
proclaims the follo wing policy: “I n emer-
gency, dial 911 and a city ambulance will
respond free of charge to the patient. The
ambulance will take the patient to the
nearest emergency room according to geo-
graphic location.” If you desire a specific,
nonpublic ambulance, call
Vandenberg
Ambulance
(
&
773/521-7777
).
GASOLINE (PETROL)
At pr ess time,
the cost of gasoline (also known as gas, but
never petrol) is fluctuating at just ar ound
$1.75 a gallon in Chicago . Taxes ar e
included in the printed price. O ne U.S.
gallon equals 3.8 liters or .85 imperial gal-
lons. Fill-up locations are known as gas or
service stations.
HOLIDAYS
Banks, go vernment offices,
post offices, and many stor es, restaurants,
and museums ar e closed on the follo wing
legal national holidays: J anuary 1 (N ew
Year's Day), the thir d Monday in J anuary
(Martin Luther King, Jr ., Day), the thir d
Monday in F ebruary (P residents' D ay),
the last Monday in May (Memorial Day),
July 4 (Independence Day), the first Mon-
day in September (Labor Day), the second
Monday in O ctober (Columbus D ay),
November 11 ( Veterans D ay/Armistice
Day), the four th Thursday in N ovember
(Thanksgiving D ay), and D ecember 25
(Christmas). The Tuesday after the first
Monday in N ovember is E lection D ay, a
federal go vernment holiday in pr esiden-
tial-election years (held every 4 years, and
next in 2012).
For more information on holidays, see
“Kids' Favorite Chicago Events,” in chap-
ter 2.
HOSPITALS
The best hospital emer-
gency room in Chicago is, by consensus, at
Northwestern M emorial H ospital,
251
E. H uron S t. (
&
312/926-2000;
www .
nmh.org), a state-of-the-art medical center
right off N orth M ichigan A venue. The
emergency department (
&
312/926-5188
or 312/944-2358 for TDD access) is at
251 E. Erie St., near Fairbanks Court. For
