Please be advised that our Chicago campus is located within the area affected by the Blackhawks Parade being held on Thursday, June 18, 2015. NLU's Chicago campus will be open for regular business and classes will be held as scheduled. Please allow extra time if you will be traveling to the Chicago campus.

Employees should consult with their supervisor if they wish to work from a different campus location on Thursday, June 18, 2015.

The Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications has released the following information regarding street closures and public transportation. Please refer to the map below for further details.

Due to the large crowd anticipated at the festivities on Thursday, City officials strongly encourage attendees to use public transportation in lieu of driving. For those who drive please be advised that the streets along the parade route and in the Loop could be shut down by 8 a.m. and access to many parking garages could be restricted.

TIME:
10:00am step off for the Parade. The rally is expected to begin at approximately 11:15am.

LOCATION:
The parade will run on Monroe Street from Jefferson Street to Michigan Avenue. The rally will be held at Soldier Field.

PARADE ROUTE
Double-decker buses featuring the team and front office personnel will ride to the rally beginning at approximately 10 a.m.

The official parade route will begin at Monroe and Jefferson Streets and proceed east until Michigan Avenue. Fans who want to catch the downtown parade are highly encouraged to see them along this route.

The parade will not run directly in front of NLU's Chicago campus, but please expect significant pedestrian presence along Michigan Ave.
IMPACTED STREET CLOSURES
Residents, motorists and fans should expect traffic delays throughout the Loop due to the parade. For those that drive to the events, please be advised that Monroe Street will be closed from Halsted to Lake Shore Drive at 8 a.m. and access to many parking garages could be restricted.

Additional street closures may be implemented as necessary due to crowd size to ensure the public safety of pedestrians and parade attendees.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
Officials are encouraging fans to use public transportation.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will offer additional service to customers traveling into the Loop on Thursday. Riders are advised to allow plenty of travel time due to street closures, traffic congestion and reroutes. CTA's Red and Blue subway lines and Brown, Green, Pink and Orange elevated lines are the best option for Blackhawks fans heading downtown for the parade and rally.

Additional service will be provided on all eight rail lines following the morning rush period through midday. CTA buses will be detoured in the downtown area during the parade and as a result of street closures for the rally. Detailed service information is available at www.transitchicago.com<http://www.transitchicago.com/>.

To speed travel and reduce lines, customers are encouraged to buy farecards in advance with sufficient value or to add enough value to their existing Ventra cards for their return trips later in the day. People going to the rally in Soldier Field should use the Roosevelt station.

Metra<http://www.transitchicago.com/> will be adding service on most of its lines and offering a special one-day only $5 unlimited ride ticket to accommodate Chicago Blackhawks fans attending the downtown parade and rally.

Riders should be aware that morning and evening rush-hour trains, as well as trains immediately before and after the event, are likely to be very full. Trains may depart early if they reach capacity so riders are advised to allow adequate time to arrive at the station and board the train.

Due to the event, bikes and alcohol will be banned from all trains on Thursday and quiet car rules will be suspended during both rush hours. Metra also will be adding security and increasing its police presence on trains and stations Thursday.

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