by Janet Dickelman
Still want to come to Schaumburg, but you’re afraid it’s too late? You’re in luck! Convention registration will remain open until 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Friday, June 16th. Register online at https://members.acb.org/, or call (651) 428-5059.
Assistance at the Airport
To assist airline personnel and Margarine Beaman and her cadre of airport volunteers, if you would like assistance when you arrive at the airport in Schaumburg, please submit the following information:
- Your name
- The name of the airline you will be arriving on
- Your departure city
- Arrival flight number
- Arrival airport (Midway or O’Hare)
- Arrival date and time
- Departure airline
- Departure date
- Departure time
- Your cell phone number
You can send Margarine Beaman an e-mail with “airline information” in the subject line at
[email protected], or call her at (512) 921-1625.
Ordering Dog Food
Scoopmasters will provide and maintain our dog relief areas in Schaumburg. Locations of the dog relief areas will be shared via email lists and posted in the convention newspaper as soon as they are set up. If you would like to pre-order dog food to be delivered to your hotel room, call Tim Stone at (661) 714-0749, or order online at https://scoopmasters.com/acb. Tim says, “It’s a simple form that asks for name, phone number, brand and type of food. I will call to get the details within 24 hours, and I will accept payments at the hotel.” Food must be ordered by June 25th to ensure delivery.
Need a Wheelchair or Scooter at Convention?
If you will need a wheelchair or scooter in Schaumburg, Lang Medical will deliver to the Renaissance. If you’d like to rent one, contact Lang Medical at (847) 221-9156 to make payment. Once you have done that, please let me know, so I can be sure that I receive your order when it arrives.
Wheelchair rental begins at $50 per week, and scooter rental is $125 a week. There is also a one-time fee of $35 for pick-up and delivery.
Taxis to the Hotel
The following information is excerpted from a handout provided by the Illinois host committee. I will be emailing the entire document to the convention email list.
From O’Hare, you can take a taxi or rideshare (Uber or Lyft) to Schaumburg. The hotel address is 1551 Thoreau Drive, Schaumburg, Illinois.
To catch Uber and Lyft from O’Hare, go to the upper level in front of Terminal 2. There are four zones for pickup, and the Uber and Lyft apps will prompt you to indicate what zone you are in: A, B, C or D. Ask whoever is helping you which zone you are in. If you’re traveling in via United Airlines or any other airline that arrives at Terminal 1, you’re best to go to Zone A. If coming in via American or any other airline arriving in Terminal 3, the closest zone is Zone D. There is no rideshare pickup at Terminal 5, so you’ll need to also get to Terminal 2. Be sure you have your luggage and that you are in the pickup area before requesting your ride. Drivers cannot wait in the pickup area. Also, there will likely be many people waiting for rideshare pickups at the same time, so we suggest letting the driver know you are visually impaired and what you are wearing to make it easier for them to find you.
While you can also fly into Midway airport (MDW) and take Uber or Lyft to the hotel, keep in mind it is going to cost you more, as Midway is considerably farther from Schaumburg than O’Hare.
If you are taking a taxi from O’Hare or Midway, you pick these up on the lower level of either Terminal 1, 2, 3 or 5 at O’Hare, or the main terminal at Midway. Be sure to take a suburban taxi, because Chicago taxis will charge you meter and a half to take you to Schaumburg. Taking a taxi back to O’Hare or Midway, tell the driver what airline you’re flying out on and they’ll drop you at the proper location.
If you are traveling to and from convention via Amtrak, you’ll arrive downtown Chicago at Union Station. You can take rideshare or a Metra commuter train to Schaumburg. If you want to take the train, go to the North concourse at Union Station to catch the Milwaukee West train line. We don’t recommend taking a taxi from downtown Chicago as they will be Chicago taxis, which will charge you meter and a half rate once you leave Chicago going to Schaumburg.
Special note: if returning to Midway or downtown for Amtrak taking a rideshare or taxi, allow extra time, as there is a major road construction project taking place on the Kennedy Expressway, which is the main route into Chicago. It is sure to cause traffic delays.
Hotel Details
Rooms must be reserved by June 8, 2023 to guarantee the convention rate.
Room rates at the Renaissance are $98 per night double occupancy (with an additional $10 charge for up to four people), plus tax, which is currently 15%. To make reservations online, visit https://book.passkey.com/go/AmericanCounciloftheBlind2023.
For telephone reservations, call 1-800-468-3571. This is a central reservations number, so please indicate you are with ACB conference at the Renaissance Hotel in Schaumburg, Ill.
Staying in Touch
The conference and convention announce list will be filled with information. To subscribe to the list, send a blank e-mail to [email protected]. If you received updates for the 2022 convention, you do not need to subscribe to the list.
Convention Contacts
2023 exhibit information: Michael Smitherman, (601) 331-7740, [email protected]
2023 sponsorships: [email protected], or contact Dan Spoone or Clark Rachfal at (202) 467-5081.
For any other convention-related questions, please contact Janet Dickelman, convention chair, at (651) 428-5059 or via email, [email protected].