xorg/ Events/ XDC2011

XDC2011: Chicago, United States

<< XDS 2010 XDC 2011 XDC 2012 >>
  • Attendees
  • Program
  • Notes XDC2011 is to take place in from the 12th through the 14th of September in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The event is being hosted at the Illinois Institute of Technology within the ?McCormick Tribune Campus Center in the Ballroom.

The Chicago XDS proposal has additional information that was prepared for the foundation board.

Venue

The XDC2011 event is taking place at the Illinois Institute of Technology at the McCormick Tribune Campus Center. It's immediately due-south of downtown Chicago by just a few minutes with easy public transportation. Thanks go out to the Association for Computing Machinery in helping X.Org secure this venue at an affordable rate in conjunction with IIT.

Program

If you would be interested in providing a talk during the event, please add it to the program page.

For anyone arriving the weekend prior to XDC2011, MichaelLarabel will already be showing around a few attendees various places around Chicago and various pubs in the evening. Contact him and you're more than welcome to meet-up with other attendees. His locations will also be tweeted for those that may be showing up at a moment's notice. Sunday evening there might also be a pre-XDC2011 gathering at a local establishment.

Travel

Chicago has two main airports, Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and Chicago Midway (MDW). Most attendees, especially international visitors, will likely arrive at O'Hare. Midway is common for the budget domestic airlines and other general aviation traffic. ORD is one of the lowest-cost airports in the United States to fly in from Europe with direct flights.

Both airports are connected to the city via local train. There are also shuttle buses to major hotels within the city.

Local Transit

Chicago is much better than most cities in the United States with regard to public transportation. There's buses and trains (also referred to as 'El') that go under and above ground depending upon location. Trains are generally on time and most preferred as buses are often late, missing, or crowded, but still better than most US locations.

All events should be within close proximity to a train line for a quick and easy commute around the city.

Public transportation is served by the Chicago Transit Authority. Local routes can also be planned using Google Maps, which tends to provide accurate information for the city.

The event itself at the ?McCormick Tribune Campus Center is located along the CTA green line directly at the 35th–Bronzeville–IIT stop. There is also a red line Sox-35th stop within walking distance too, which is the train stop used for accessing the White Sox baseball stadium (Cellular Field).

"The bus lines that run to IIT are the 29 (directly to MTCC from Navy Pier/Loop), the 24 (from the Loop down Wenworth/LaSalle, one block west of MTCC) and the 4 (from downtown on Michigan to one block east of MTCC). They are often slow, but they may be more convenient than the train depending on where you are staying."

"There is a free IIT shuttle bus that takes people directly from the IIT downtown campus to the MTCC. The information is at http://www.iit.edu/directory/2011-2012IITShuttleBusSchedule.pdf Technically it's only for IIT students/faculty but you might be able to hop on by saying you're with the CS department."

Accommodations

With Chicago being a popular tourist destination, there's a variety of accommodations in and around the city of Chicago for all price ranges. Hotels.com is able to provide a list of Chicago area hotels. For those on a budget, the accommodations near O'Hare International Airport may be most economical (with an easy 20~30 minute train ride to reach the center of the city) while the hotels in the proper city center are the most expensive options.

  • Central Loop Hotel - heart of downtown right in the "loop" whereby all the public train lines wrap around. Convenient location. Circa $170~180 USD per night.
  • Club Quarters Chicago - Same as Central Loop Hotel in terms of price / central location.
  • Travelodge Downtown Chicago - In the center of downtown Chicago as well. Likely the least expensive hotel that one can find while still being in a very central location; circa $100~140 a night (as of 14 May on Hotels.com is $100 USD per night at a supposed discount of $40)
  • Chicago South Loop Hotel - Same central location, slightly south / closer to IIT. $169 USD per night. The area around the hotel, however, has been reported to not be a nice area. It's been advised now that it's advised not to walk around in this neighborhood... So ideally better to be elsewhere or to use only taxi/bus for commuting. An IIT professor writes, "the Chicago South Loop Hotel used to be shady, but that whole neighborhood is much better than it was 5 years ago. That would definitely be the closest (8 minute walk) safe place to stay. It's a little far from the train, but there are cabs coming directly to it because many people who have conferences at the ?McCormick Place stay there."

Chicago Dining

Chicago has many dining options for all price ranges. Chicago is particularly known for unique styles of pizza and hot dogs. According to WikiTravel, Chicago is evidently also known for greasy, large sandwiches that are simply called "Italian Beef."

Beer in America is an unfortunate travesty. Particularly for European visitors, if beer quality is even the smallest concern, avoid most restaurants near Wrigley Field and other sporting venues. For any other recommendations, consult MichaelLarabel.

The XDC2011 dinner and social event is TBD.

Below are some unofficial recommendations on particular establishments.

  • Resi's Bierstube [2034 W Irving Park Road] - Good place. Small biergarten. Decent selection of good beer and food. Favorite local German beer hall.
  • Laschet's Inn [2119 W Irving Park Road] – This along with Resi's is the best German food you'll be able to find in Chicago.
  • The Berghoff Restaurant [17 W. Adams Street] - Another German restaurant, but this one at least is downtown.
  • Fogo de Chao [661 N ?LaSalle Blvd] – A good Brazilian Steakhouse. It's expensive by American standards, but well worth it.
  • Moto [945 W Fulton Market] - Favorite restaurant in Chicago, one of my favorites in the world. Quite a unique experience, but expensive and can be difficult to obtain a reservation in short notice.
  • Hot Doug's [3324 N California] - Likely the best hot dogs in Chicago.
  • English [444 N La Salle] - Decent bar downtown.
  • Moe's Cantina [155 W Kinzie] - Good Mexican restaurant.
  • Gibsons [1028 N Rush] - Good steakhouse.
  • Portillo's [100 W Ontario Street] - Inexpensive restaurant and beer.
  • Hopleaf [5148 N Clark] - Good bar and restaurant, good food. Bit far north, however.
  • Goose Island [1800 N Clybourne or 3535 N Clark] – Decent local brewery and restaurant.
  • Gino's Pizza [Multiple Locations] - Chicago style deep dish pizza.
  • Giodano's Chicago Pizza [Multiple Locations] - Chicago style deep dish pizza.
  • Kingston Mines [2548 N Halstead] - One of the oldest and most well known Chicago Blue's music joints. If you would like any other recommendations about particular places or bars, ask MichaelLarabel.

Dining Near The Venue

Below are a few restaurants / bars located near the IIT ?McCormick Tribune Campus Center itself, if looking for additional food or drink during the event itself. Additional places can easily be found with Google Maps using "restaurant loc: The ?McCormick Tribune Campus Center, Chicago, IL 60616"

  • 7-Eleven - There's a convenience store at the venue itself.
  • Starbucks [3506 South State Street]
  • Einstein Bros Bagels [3241 S Federal Street] - A cafe / bagel shop right near the venue.
  • Cork & Kerry at the Park [3258 South Princeton Avenue] - Bar restaurant.
  • Rocky's Bar & Grill [234 West 31st Street] - Bar restaurant, plus an outdoor "biergarten".
  • Fratellini Pizza & Pasta [3258 South Wells Street] - Pizza and pasta.
  • Miller Pizza Company [17 West 35th Street] - Normal pizza.
  • Jimmy John's [3506 South State Street] - Cheap sandwiches.
  • "Chinatown" is a short distance away from IIT with a wide selection of Chinese food.

Registration

If you will be attending XDC2011, add your name to the attendees page. Additionally, subscribe to the X.Org events mailing list for further details. This is a low-volume mailing list.

Remote Participation

If physical participation is not possible but would be interested in participating remotely via IRC and ideally live audio / video streams, make your interest known to MichaelLarabel that you would like live streaming of the event.

Miscellaneous

The United States uses standard North American 120V / 60Hz power plugs. American Express, VISA, and ?MasterCard are all common in Chicago and accepted by most retailers and restaurants.

Wikitravel and TripAdvisor are great sources for other travel advice and recommendations.

Contact

Feedback and any other inquiries regarding the organization of the event -- or questions if encountered when in Chicago at the event -- can be directed to Michael Larabel <michaellarabel.com> or via SMS / voice-mail at +1.601.871.0456 (US) or +49.089.8091.2991 (DE). Note: these telephone numbers are screened for public callers. Michael can also be contacted on ?FreeNode IRC via the michaellarabel handle.