Origin
Skokie, IL
Late night in Skokie on Tuesday
Local time
5:42 AM
CDT
Current temp
60°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Trip from Skokie, IL to Chicago, IL
Pin this tripCompiled and reviewed by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy · Last reviewed Apr 21, 2026 · Editorial standards
Drive Time
27m
Distance
16.6 mi
27 km
Drive Score
7/10
Good drive
Same Day?
Yes, doable
Fuel Cost
$3
one way
EV Charging
Unknown
Best Time to Leave
4 AM
0h 25m
★
6 AM
0h 27m
8 AM
0h 32m
10 AM
0h 29m
12 PM
0h 28m
3 PM
0h 29m
5 PM
0h 31m
8 PM
0h 26m
Estimated drive times based on typical traffic patterns. Actual times may vary with weather, construction, and real-time conditions.
Skokie, IL
Wikimedia Commons
Chicago, IL
Otoniel Alvarado
Trip Overview
Skokie, IL to Chicago, IL is 16.6 miles and takes about 27 minutes via I-90/I-94, with a fuel budget near $3 and enough daylight to finish in a day. This short hop stays within the Midwest and Illinois, connecting two nearby urban areas. Most of the drive is on expressways, making it a quick commute or a simple transition into the city. Given the minimal distance and duration, this trip is ideal for a single-day excursion.
Main Roads
| Road | Distance | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Kennedy Expressway | 8.1 mi | 11m |
| Edens Expressway | 3.8 mi | 4m |
| Dan Ryan Expressway | 0.9 mi | 1m |
| Skokie Boulevard | 0.8 mi | 1m |
| Kostner Avenue | 0.5 mi | 1m |
| Oakton Street | 0.5 mi | <1m |
| Main Street | 0.3 mi | 1m |
| North Cicero Avenue | 0.2 mi | <1m |
Longest stretch:
Kennedy Expressway
— 8.1 mi, about 11m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Skokie, IL and Chicago, IL.
1
Start on Main Street
156 ft
·
8 sec
·
Main Street
2
Continue on Main Street
0.3 mi
·
55 sec
·
Main Street
Use the left lane.
3
Turn left onto Kostner Avenue
0.5 mi
·
1 min
·
Kostner Avenue
Use the left lane.
4
Turn right onto Oakton Street
0.5 mi
·
52 sec
·
Oakton Street
5
Turn left onto US 41
0.8 mi
·
1 min
·
Skokie Boulevard
Use the left lane.
6
Continue on IL 50
0.2 mi
·
32 sec
·
North Cicero Avenue
7
Turn right onto West Touhy Avenue
0.2 mi
·
24 sec
·
West Touhy Avenue
Use the right lane.
8
Take the ramp
0.2 mi
·
22 sec
Toward I 94 East: Chicago
9
Merge onto I 94
3.8 mi
·
4 min
·
Edens Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
10
Continue on I 90; I 94
8.1 mi
·
11 min
·
Kennedy Expressway
Use the straight / slight left lanes.
11
Continue on I 90; I 94
0.9 mi
·
1 min
·
Dan Ryan Expressway
12
Take the exit
0.3 mi
·
34 sec
Exit 52C
Toward 18th Street
Use the slight right lane.
13
Turn slight left onto South Union Avenue
0.2 mi
·
30 sec
·
South Union Avenue
14
Turn right onto South Canalport Avenue
505 ft
·
12 sec
·
South Canalport Avenue
15
Turn left onto South Halsted Street
0.1 mi
·
18 sec
·
South Halsted Street
16
Turn right onto West Cermak Road
0.2 mi
·
24 sec
·
West Cermak Road
17
Turn left
152 ft
·
11 sec
18
Turn right
0.2 mi
·
58 sec
19
Arrive at destination
Heads-up: tricky spots
5 of 135 decision points cluster between mile 0 and 15.5 — GPS handles the exact turns, but know they're coming. Your lane choice matters more than the turn itself.
5
0 mi into trip
|
~0m in
|
Main Street
Continue onto Main Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
5
0.3 mi into trip
|
~1m in
|
Kostner Avenue
Turn left onto Kostner Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left lane.
7
2.3 mi into trip
|
~5m in
|
West Touhy Avenue
Turn right onto West Touhy Avenue
Lane positioning matters here
Use the right lane.
5
2.7 mi into trip
|
~6m in
|
I 94 / Edens Expressway
Merge onto I 94 / Edens Expressway
Merge point - match speed before joining. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
15.5 mi into trip
|
~23m in
Take the exit toward 18th Street
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight right lane.
Exit 52C
Toward 18th Street
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$2.60 one way
$5.19 round trip
$3.97/gal
25.4 MPG avg
6 kg CO2
| Fuel Type | $/gal | One Way | Round Trip |
|---|---|---|---|
| midgrade | $4.36 | $2.85 | $5.70 |
| premium | $4.89 | $3.19 | $6.39 |
| diesel | $5.61 | $3.67 | $7.33 |
No toll roads detected on this route.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$3
Estimated CO2 emission: 5.8 kg one way. Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging · 0 stops · 67% less CO2
| Vehicle Type | kWh | Stops | DC Fast | Home Charge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average EV | 5 | 0 | $1.74 | $0.80 |
| Efficient EV | 4.2 | 0 | $1.45 | $0.66 |
| EV Truck/SUV | 6.6 | 0 | $2.32 | $1.06 |
Gas CO2
6 kg
EV CO2
2 kg (67% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Destination
Chicago, IL
Late night in Chicago on Tuesday
Local time
5:42 AM
CDT
Current temp
61°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
1 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
27m on the road
Use the two city cards together: check the sky where you start, then compare it with the local time and temperature at arrival.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
What kind of drive is this?
Expect to spend most of your time on highways, with 78% of the route being expressway driving. The longest continuous stretch on an expressway is 8.1 miles on the Kennedy Expressway. You'll notice frequent merging and traffic as you approach and enter Chicago.
78% highway — fuel and pacing are the main things to plan.
19 navigation steps total — most of the decisions cluster near the start and finish.
Longest single stretch: 8.1 mi on Kennedy Expressway.
How Hard Is This Drive?
6/10
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Kennedy Expressway and Edens Expressway. You will hit about 13 points where you need to pay attention to lane position or signs. The trickiest moment comes early in the drive near Main Street.
Driving Effort
6/10
Moderate - straightforward overall, but long enough or busy enough to require pacing
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This drive requires moderate attention. Across 16.6 miles you will encounter 13 spots where lane choice or exit timing matters. Not difficult for experienced highway drivers, but worth previewing the tricky sections before you go.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: near the start (Main Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.3 miles (Kostner Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.3 miles (West Touhy Avenue): Lane positioning matters here.
About the Cities
Arriving in Chicago, IL
Full guide →Chicago is the home of the blues and the truth of jazz, the heart of comedy and the idea of the skyscraper. Here, the age of railroads found its center, and airplanes followed suit. "Stormy, Husky, Brawling / City of Big Shoulders," Chicago is a Heartland boomtown, its ethos defined by urban planner Daniel Burnham's immortal vision: "Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood." It is one of the world's great cities and the third largest city in the United States, behind only New York City and Los Angeles. As the hub of the Midwest, Chicago is easy to find — its picturesque skyline calls across the waters of Lake Michigan, a first impression that soon reveals world-class museums of art and science, miles of sandy beaches, huge parks and public art, and perhaps the finest downtown collection of modern architecture in the world.
Top landmarks
- • Willis Tower — skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois
- • Art Institute of Chicago — art museum and school in Chicago, United States
- • Wrigley Field — baseball stadium in Chicago, Illinois, USA; home venue of the Chicago Cubs
City content from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0).
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 27m. Total distance: 16.6 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
27m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (78%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Frequently Asked Questions
The longest stretch is about 8.1 miles on Kennedy Expressway. The full list of main roads is in the Roads section above.
It helps. This route has a higher-than-average number of complex decision points, which get harder in the dark. If the last hour of the trip is on surface roads or mountain grades, aim to arrive at Chicago, IL before sunset when you can. Check the Trip Plan for departure windows that land you in daylight.
Yes. At under 2 hours behind the wheel, this works well for families — plan one quick stop if you have younger kids.
The main spots that need attention: near the start (Main Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 0.3 miles (Kostner Avenue): Lane positioning matters here; at 2.3 miles (West Touhy Avenue): Lane positioning matters here.
Yes. A round trip is manageable in a single day if you plan a break at Chicago, IL before heading back.
How this page is built
Compiled by the US Trip Planner planning team at COD Solutions Oy from open government datasets — OSRM over OpenStreetMap for geometry, and EIA for fuel prices. See our methodology for refresh cadence and limitations.
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