I'm commuting from Portage, IN to Rush Medical Center. Does anyone have any suggestions on avoiding the loop?

I'm going to take the skyway, and I have 94 as a backup route, but both can get really backed up. Does anyone know any good ways to Rush that would be good in the winter months or traffic days?I'm commuting from Portage, IN to Rush Medical Center. Does anyone have any suggestions on avoiding the loop?
Have you considered public transit? You could take the South Shore from the Portage/Ogden Dunes station, get off at Van Buren in Chicago, walk west to Dearborn %26amp; Jackson and take the Blue Line to the Medical District station. Check http://www.nictd.com for South Shore information and http://www.transitchicago.com for CTA information. The only problem with the South Shore is that the overhead lines can snap in cold weather and they have a history of leaving people stranded when they have problems.



Another option would be to drive into Illinois and take a Metra train into the city. Most of the suburban stations have parking, but you will probably want to investigate whether the station you are considering parking at will have parking available (some stations are more popular than others). Perhaps Hazel Crest or Tinley Park would be easy enough to drive. Check http://www.metrarail.com for Metra information. If you decide to take Metra from Tinley Park, you will be arriving at LaSalle Station downtown, which is really close to the Blue Line LaSalle station.