Potentially useful information
WindyCon ended a week ago, and what I learned there won't be useful (for me, anyway) until next WindyCon, but you might want to add this to whatever archive of con-related tips you might keep. The Westin Lombard, across from Yorktown Shopping Center, has its own parking lot, but on Saturday night the Harry Caray's restaurant in the hotel draws a vast load of people, filling the lot down to where the lot belonging to the AMC theaters takes over. Parking is available by then across the way for Yorktown, but in theory at least any car parked there could be towed any time after the last store in Yorktown closes. There is, however, a parking garage behind the hotel, and it's open to anyone at no charge; you don't have to be a guest of the hotel to use it. There are doors connecting the parking structure directly to the hotel. When I used it, around 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, there were about two levels of the structure with no cars parked in it. This means that, next year, one ought to be able to make dinner plans that involve moving the car without fear of having noplace to park after dinner.