Not a B&B, but if there is not a convention in town I got SUPER cheap rates at the Convention Center Hyatt and it was almost dead empty. If I remember correctly there is a bus stop out front and maybe a 10 block walk to a train. There is room on the grounds to run around including a large plaza at the convention center.
I got the super cheap rate via priceline.
No tips on hotels in Chicago other than there's supposed to be a nice one on the South Side near UofC, but I don't know how convenient it is to public transport or how cheap it might be, nor, for that matter, what the name of it is. Sorry!
Speaking of Chicago, I watched last night's Anthony Bourdain show, and was surprised that he had never heard of a Suicide before. I grew up with that drink--it's what you call the drink you make when you mix together all of the varieties of soda in the soda fountain (Coke, 7-Up, Orange, lemonade, root beer, etc.).
What do people from other parts of the country call it?
You might look at Youth Hostels - my girl scout troop often stayed at them, as they sometimes have group rooms or suites that would solve your "keeping track of the 9 year olds" problem.
I didn't know it had a name-- I just thought it was something the boys in my 6th grade class made up when we were at the roller skating rink.
Dude! My hometown had an earthquake! [link]
What is this world coming to? Someone vandalized the Giant Silver Bean in Chicago: Bean sculpture vandalized
The Bean is made from a series of stainless steel plates, welded together and painstakingly polished.
"It's a beloved icon, millions of people come to see it every year and are very respectful," Hurwitz said. "This is distressing that anyone would do this to a piece of public art, but fortunately it's very rare."
Dude! My hometown had an earthquake! [link]
eh, it was only a 3.0
t /former Californian
The house GOP has released a list of waste in the senate version of the stimulus package. While I suppose the house GOP isn't very relevant, it is interesting. There are some where I agree with the list, and others that I guess I need more info for.
The first one I find pretty interesting. Everybody likes to talk about clean coal, but I guess actually trying to do develop the technology is a waste. The project might just be rubbish though, it's hard to figure things out without more info.
[link]
Hmmm...They've got group rooms in the hostel, so that might work. Put 'em all in one room (by gender).