N Michigan Ave to ORD at 3:30pm - Train or Taxi
 

I'll be in a rush to catch my flight and will need to get to ORD as fast as possible. Which mode of transportation will be best on a Tuesday afternoon? I'm guessing the El will take about an hour in total but can a cab beat that? I know it could without traffic but I'm not sure when rush hour hits and how bad it'll be.

Thanks

Some key missing information includes: what time is your flight? what terminal? That may help us answer your question. Also, minor point - it's L not El.

Thanks for the clarification. I just need the absolute fastest way to T1 (United) at that hour. I'm stuck in meetings so leaving at any other time isn't possible.

It's a toss-up at that time.

I'd take the train (from the Grand Av/Halsted blue line stop) because that way you know it will be 45 mins. It could be faster if you drive, but it could just as easily be a lot slower.

Would you have access to a computer for a minute or two before you leave (or do you have a smartphone)? Check the traffic on gcmtravel.com or even google maps. If it's green, grab a cab. If yellow or red, get the L

still missing the flight time.

I would always take the Blue Line. Too much unpredictability on the highway for me.

I wish we had a starting address or intersection instead of "north Michigan Ave". Be that as it may, take a cab to the nearest Blue Line Metra station (locations noted at the end), make sure you board the train going to O'Hare.

Traffic conditions are highly variable, so unless you can monitor them online minutes before leaving, I would skip the road option. If you are meeting in an office, you could request someone there to look it up for you. In case of doubt, cab to the train, train to ORD.

It would be wise to look up in advance (Google maps) which Blue line Metra station is nearest to your meeting venue: Grand & Milwaukee, Chicago & Milwaukee, Division and Milwaukee. If two seem equal distance, go to the later one.

As an ex-Chicagoan, I would agree with your advice, but just don't refer to anything as a "Blue Line Metra station" :).

Take the L. No matter what the traffic looks like before you leave downtown, it could change. The L will be 45 minutes if all goes well, an hour if there are delays.

It depends
 

Remember that the L stop is on the Blue Line and the ORD stop is a good 5 minute walk from the security gates at ORD. The Blue Line is considerably west of Michigan avenue. Absent a significant traffic jam, the cab will have you at the airport security gates faster. Sometimes the blue line stops for 10 or 15 minutes just for no reason you can tell. I have done both and absent financial considerations, a cab is easier and generally faster. Oh, I have lived here since 1972. I am not reading this out of a guidebook.

It's not "generally" faster at 3:30 p.m., however, although it could be on occasion. And, if it's a Friday, the L will get you there faster 99 times out of 100. Since they completed the construction, there aren't 10 or 15 minute stops except in very unusual circumstances. If there is a delay, they'll run express. But I'll defer to you. I've only lived here since 1975. ;)

How recent and often have you taken the blue line to ORD may I ask ?

Cab is faster only if you take it on weekends, other days of the week, only the midday period like around 10am to 3pm "may" have less traffic.

Yeah, I once volunteered to pick someone up at ORD at 4:30 pm on a Friday.

The opposite direction, but I'm still not going to do that again.

I have to disagree. My office is on N. Michigan and by the time you get to the Blue Line station and then to the terminal on the other end it is a wash in time vs. a cab. Even on Friday evenings at 5 you can grab a cab on Rush or Michigan and be walking into the terminal an hour later. IME it's often less than an hour and has never taken more than 1:15.