I need help from people who are familiar with Illinois or who are students at U of I.
I will be flying into O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and from there will be driving 2 1/2 hours to Urbana. Now, when I booked everything I was just happy about the fact that I was saving a lot of money that way (round trip between Chicago and Germany for $620 is pretty awesome compared to the $950 round trip between Willard Airport and Germany) and from what I remember the weekly weather forecast did not show snow at the time, very cold yes, but no snow yet.
Since I keep checking the forecast, there is now snow a few days a week. So knowing this, how bad is the snow? Is it realistic for me to plan on driving 2 1/2 hours between Chicago and Urbana (do they keep roads pretty clear, is it an easy drive, etc?) I know it also depends on the weather the day I fly into Illinois but based on what you know about the weather in Illinois, could I safely drive that distance?
Also, how do the toll roads work? I googled the directions to Urbana and it appears there are some toll roads I will have to use. Is it just a little booth where I have to pay a few cents to get through or is it more high tech and it's something I can purchase online?
I appreciate any feedback I can get. 🙂