Illinois Ipass Letter

When we lived in the Midwest we drove to Chicago about every six to eight weeks. Since there were so many tolls we got transponders for the cars through the Illinois Ipass system. It took us a while to figure out that the transponder also worked in other states whenever we travelled. We kept the same transponder when we moved to DC fifteen years ago and keep it updated online so as not to worry about tolls whenever we drive. Last week we got a letter from the Illinois IPass in the mail. It said that because we haven’t used the account for over a year they wanted to close it out. They gave us three options: close it out and provide details on where to refund the money; keep it open; or do nothing and let it become unclaimed property. Of course we wanted to keep it open and the only way to do that was to make a dreaded phone call - something I try to avoid at all costs. I much prefer to handle transactions on line. So I called and was on hold for at least fifteen minutes with no option to get a call back so you wouldn’t have to hang on. When I finally spoke to a live person they reviewed all the information and “reopened” the account. I asked if they do this to everyone every year snd she said no. You would think that everyone’s travel habits changed last year and it wouldn’t be a surprise that there was no activity on the I-pass. We still haven’t taken nor do we plan on taking any road trips in the near future - especially not during the summer. I guess we need to remember to use I-pass a couple of times during the year to avoid this from happening again. I suppose it’s also a safety measure if and when someone will never use their I-pass again. I bet there is a lot of “unclaimed property” out there. 

Driving Through Chicago - the Car GPS Leads Us Astray Again

I don't trust the car GPS. And it was proven once again last week when we drove to Milwaukee from DC. I usually set google maps on my phone as well as use the car GPS, but my head was down when we were passing out of Indiana and in to Illinois. Rather than take the usual bypass, we ended up heading straight in to downtown. We haven't been that way since the last time we made that mistake twenty years ago. We always paid close attention to the confusing signs that first take you west to Iowa, then north to Milwaukee. So we cursed a bit, but then just sat back for the ride. After driving past the rusty bridges and landscape of Gary, the Chicago White Sox stadium, and the Sears Tower, we saw our usual exits like Ohio Street, where we would frequent Reza's Persian Restaurant and Michigan Avenue. We spent a lot of time in Chicago over the thirty years we lived in Milwaukee, including Christmas time weekends when my husband was attending medical meetings or we just did Christmas shopping and enjoyed the sounds and sights of the holiday season. I suppose it was a nice reminder of all those things, but it did delay our arrival time by quite a bit. Would we have preferred taking the bypass? Probably. Did we enjoy the ride? Yes. 

Illinois IPass Tollway - Mandatory Transponder Replacement

We used to travel to Chicago routinely when we lived in Milwaukee. So we got an IPass transponder probably fifteen years ago and have been using it ever since. A couple weeks back we received a letter from the Illinois tollway that we had to replace our transponder because it had reached the end of its expected service life. Since we don't live anywhere near Illinois and don't plan on visiting any time soon, I called and asked if they could send us a new transponder. They said they would only if we sent the old one back. I'm not exactly sure why we need to send it back, but I will. The new one arrived in the mail yesterday, saying it was already active and ready to use. But before I got rid of the original one I wanted to make sure the new one worked. So after brunch today, we got on the IPass and tested it.  Of course it worked, but one never knows! The only problem we have is that we cannot stick it on the windshield because of the eye-sight safety feature cameras built in the rear view mirror. So we need to hold it up as we pass through. I'll need to check with Subaru and see if there are other options. You would think there would be a better solution. Since we don't need to use it that often it's not a big deal. But I'll make sure the transponder is kept in a very convenient place. It's not something you want to hunt for at the last minute on a busy freeway!