So "light rail" is like the SF Muni and "heavy rail" is like the El.

That's what I was looking for.

True enough, though that's because light rail is usually slower and smaller than heavy rail.

A good way to differentiate them apart is passenger capacity.

I disagree with most of the posters. If I am traveling from either ORD or MDW to the Loop with a person with limited mobility (and I occasionally fall into that category), I would say that you should take a shuttle or taxi into the city.

At Midway, you are going to have to drag your bags about 0.4 miles to the Orange Line. Quite often, the elevators/escalators that take you to the street level are NOT working. Also. once you get to the Loop on the Orange Line, it can be a real PITA to get to the elevator (which also on occasion does not work). Your best bet is the State/Lake station.

At O'Hare, depending on the terminal, your walk to the transit center can actually be LONGER than at Midway (yes, I have measured it). Generally, though, the escalators/elevators and the walking area is all inside which makes it a lot easier. However, the Blue Line is under construction and at some points, you will be bussed from the airport to the Rosemont station. Also, much of the Blue Line is under construction and there are two LONG "slow zones" between O'Hare and the Loop that stretches a 40 minute ride to the Loop to as long as 70 minutes (on occasion).

If you were doing this at rush hour, avoid the trains as they are packed and there is not a lot of room for the luggage.

I agree that unless money is a restriction, I also wouldn't take a person in a wheelchair via L from the airports.

However, just to point out... The Blue Line reopened from ORD to Rosemount yesterday morning, the shuttle is over.

I landed at MDW around 10:00 pm Tuesday night and traffic on Cicero avenue heading to the Stevenson expressway was the worst that I had ever seen, evidently due to construction. The cabby actually took me down some alleys to bypass the gridlock.

If you fly American into ORD, the Blue Line is not that far away. It is most convenient from the American terminal, IIRC.

The Orange Line, as previous posters have noted, is poorly designed in that it is quite a hike from the terminal and requires going down and up several sets of stairs. For much of the trek, there are no conveyor belts and often those that do exist are not working. It's not bad it you are light on luggage, but if you have alot of luggage or a wheel chair, I wouldn't recommend it.

A taxi is $30-35 dollars from MDW and maybe a little bit more from O'Hare, depending on traffic. The CTA would be $4 for two people, and you would still need a taxi to the Drake from downtown, which woul be about $7.

Steve

I'll admit I don't take it regularly, but I thought you'd go to the ticketing/baggage claim area (which is still closer then a far H/K gate in the ORD AA terminal or a high B or C gate in the UA terminal), then through the garage and down to the platform. I don't know where there's several sets of stairs, thought it was maybe one from the ped bridge level to the right level in the parking garage (or is that same level? it's been a couple months), then one down to the station. Your description sounds more like what it was in the old terminal where it was a really long walk and lots of stairs.

Again, not recommending the CTA for OP, but for posterity. One can easily switch from the Orange to the Red at Roosevelt, go to the Chicago stop, and be within walking distance of the Drake, the Pen, etc. Grand stop would cover the southern part of the Mile (Marriott, etc). No need to take a cab.