So now I will shortly be returning, and I see that you can pay your toll afterwards on line on the Illinois Tollway website. I figured it out in time for the next collection point that you had to open the transponder and everything was fine after that except for the fee charged by the rental company. Well, I didn't have enough US currency on me, so that the cash lanes weren't an option, and didn't have enough time to sort out how the transponder worked so I missed the first toll. Very strange, in France you can always use a credit card at a booth and why they don't do this in the land of plastic is beyond me. When I came to the first toll collection point, I was surprised to have the choice between either the lanes without any booth (fully electronic) or the lanes in which you could only use cash (no credit card). I complained to the agent at the telephone number indicated on the credit card charge afterwards and was refunded the difference) The agent explained that Budget would charge me a fee of approximately $4.00 /day but only for the days I incurred toll charges (this turned out to be false by the way, they charge for every day of the rental contract whether you use it or not. I already knew that I-294 was a toll road so at the Budget rental car counter I discussed the charges involved in using the I-Pass transponder. So I tried it earlier this year and behold, I discovered the electronic toll collection system. However, after speaking with friends who have connections in the Naperville area, I believe it's probably better timewise to take 294 around Chicago. In the past, I used to drive straight through the center of Chicago on my way to the Skyway and into Indiana. Whenever this is the case, I rent a car at Ohare and drive to Michigan. In the last few years, airline prices have made it much more economical for me to travel to Ohare from Europe on my way to Michigan.

I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if this is often the case or just exceptional. As a resident of France travelling one or two times a year to the Mid west I was inspired to write this post because I'm noticing that the Illinois Tollway web site seems to be having performance issues since I started checking it a few days ago.

Illinois tollway ipass cancel