Free Rides Close Out The 2011 Year

  If you've been out drinking or even if you just don't want to drive, please take advantage of these free ride offers on New Years Eve.

--Ride any CTA bus or train for one penny from 10pm on December 31st to 4am on January 1st.  Okay, this isn't totally free but close enough.
--Miller Lite will be providing two shuttle buses that run through Chicago neighborhoods from 7pm December 31st to 2am January 1st.
--There is a "Free Rides Home" program in the suburbs of Mokena, New Lenox, Orland Park, Palos Heights, and Tinley Park.
--A few Northwest suburbs are offering free rides and free towing for your vehicle.  Anchor Towing, which has locations in Crystal Lake and McHenry, is offering free towing from 6pm on New Years Eve to 6am on New Years Day.  The service is offered within a 10 mile radius of these two towns.  Sharp Towing in Island Lake will give rides from 8pm New Years Eve to 3am New Years Day.  The suburb of Cary has also offered free rides and towing through Whitey's Towing and A+ Towing.

Unbelieva-bull!

  I usually don't post a lot of gossip in my blog but I thought this little tid-bit would be fun to share.  Basketball champ and former Bull Michael Jordan is engaged.  Over Christmas he proposed to his girlfriend of 3 years, Yvette Prieto.  This will be Jordan's second marriage.  A wedding date has not been set.

Don't Forget....

.....toll rates for our tollways will be increasing at midnight on January 1st, New Years Day.  Not such a great way to ring in the New Year.
     Depending on the tollway, rate increases vary from 83-100% with I-88 at the DeKalb and Dixon tolls seeing the largest increase.  The increases for these tolls are 95 cents to $1.80 with I-Pass or $1.90 to $3.60 without I-Pass.  On the I-90 tollway, at the River Road Toll Plaza, the rates will rise from 40 cents to 75 cents with I-Pass and from 80 cents to $1.50 without I-Pass. 
     On the news some daily commuters were already planning new routes to and from work that attempted to avoid using tollways.  Unfortunately some commuters have no alternatives and will continue to use the toll-roads.  It was mentioned that the increase in tolls could cost daily commuters up to $300 more a year in commuting expenses.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

  During this beautiful Christmas weekend, I wanted to share some of my favorite Chicago holiday decorations.  Chicago definitely has the Christmas Spirit!

Put a Little Jingle in Your Step!

  Every morning and evening, I see joggers running along Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive.  This morning I saw two joggers that were a little more noisy then usual.  They had jingle bells tied themselves and as they jogged by one looked over and said "Merry Christmas".  That was my first smile of the day.

Where the Buffalo Roam

  This morning while I was walking to work, a large city bus passed me.  I turned and noticed that taking up most of the side of the bus was a huge buffalo.  He looked so beautiful with dark fur and white snow on his back.  To the right of him was "Montana".  It brought back memories of when I was in Montana earlier this year.  Even though last May the weather was warming up here in Chicago, there was still snow in northern Wyoming and southern Montana.  Here's my photo of a buffalo with snow.

How Healthy is Illinois?

  A study recently came out that ranked each state on how healthy it is.  Among the items it factored in were rates of obesity, infectious disease, and violent crime.  Where did Illinois rank?
 
  Vermont was ranked Number 1.
   Illinois was ranked Number 28.
   Mississippi was ranked Number 50.

   Vermont was ranked healthiest state because of its low rate of violent crime, low rate of infectious disease, high usage of early prenatal care, and low rate of uninsured residents.
 

No Holiday Cheer?

  I have named yesterday "No Holiday Cheer Day" because that's what I felt from people everywhere I went.  I was in a good mood because the weather has remained so mild and is perfect city walking weather.  On the streets, in the bank, on the train, people were abrasive, bad mannered and downright rude.  I'm not always in the best mood but I do attempt to keep my manners about me.  With the holidays literally around the corner, hopefully people cheer up a little.  Before we know it, we could get hit with a Chicago blizzard and then people will really have something to be unhappy about.

Be Careful in the Mornings!

  This morning there was a scattering of snow on the ground which proved more dangerous then one would expect.  Before the sun was even up, there were multiple car crashes on Route 53 causing delays.  There were also slippery surfaces around the train station this morning, which caused two people on my train alone to fall.  Since many people don't see significant amounts of snow or ice, they don't realize that surfaces are still slick from frozen moisture.  Be careful walking and driving, especially after dark when it's more difficult to see.