Travel Illinois, Get Free Gas

By Joanna Miller in Miscellaneous on Jul 5, 2006 8:01PM

If you’re thinking about taking a trip this summer, the state really wants you to explore each “mile after magnificent mile.” In fact, it’s even willing to pony up some gas money for the trip. Which is cool, because your friends always promise to chip in, but they usually flake out.

Illinois is now one of several states offering gas cards to travelers who book hotel rooms on their tourism sites. To get your $25 gas card, book a “3-day getaway” by the end of the month on the Illinois Bureau of Tourism’s Web site. Just don’t count on using the card to take your trip – you’ll receive it in the mail after you return home.

The site has lots of ideas for trips, including tours of spots where big Hollywood movies were filmed. Sure, Chicago and the suburbs have been host to all sorts of movies, but travel a little further and you’ll see the sites of such classics as “Field of Dreams,” “Groundhog Day,” and “A League of Their Own,” not to mention “U.S. Marshals” and “Legally Blonde II: Red, White & Blonde.”

Or, if you’re stuck in the city, take a walking tour of movies shot in Chicago with this podcast hosted by Bill Kurtis.