Getting to Know Chicago - Chicago with Kids - page 69

pick up along North Michigan Avenue and State Street and connect to the
North Side via Lincoln Park.
Blue-and-white police cars are a common sight, and officers also patrol
by bicycle downtown and along the lakefront and by horseback at special
events and parades. There are police stations in busy nightlife areas, such
as the 18th District station at Chicago Avenue and LaSalle Street in the
hopping restaurant-and-entertainment mecca of River North, and the
24th District station (known as Town Hall) at Addison and Halsted streets,
located near the busy strip of sports bars and nightclubs in Wrigleyville.
Taxes The local sales tax is 8.75%. Restaurants in the central part of the
city, roughly the 312 area code, are taxed an additional 1%, for a total of
9.75%. The hotel room tax is a steep 14.9%.
Time Zone All of Illinois, including Chicago, is located in the Central time
zone, so clocks are set 1 hour earlier than those on the East Coast and
2 hours later than those on the West Coast. Chicago switches to daylight
saving time on the first Sunday in April, and back to Standard Time on the
last Sunday in October.
Transit Info The CTA has a useful number to find out which bus or El train
will get you to your destination: & 836-7000 (from any area code in the
city or suburbs) or TTY 836-4949.
Weather For the National Weather Service 's current conditions and fore-
cast, dial & 312/976-1212 (for a fee), or check the weather on the Web at
www.weather.com.