If you are looking to travel from Chicago to Oak Brook, you are in for a quick 19-mile journey that typically takes about 31 minutes. This straightforward trip is perfectly suited for a single-day excursion, meaning you won't need to worry about overnight logistics. You should budget approximately $3 for fuel, making this a very cost-effective commute within the Midwest. While the drive is short, it connects the urban core of Chicago to the suburban setting of Oak Brook efficiently. Because of the limited distance, you have total flexibility to plan your departure time around your personal schedule rather than worrying about long-haul pacing.
Who Is This Route For?
Weekend Trip
Doable as a same-day drive at 31m. Total distance: 19 miles.
Family Friendly
Moderate complexity with 0 natural rest stops along the way.
Solo Traveler
31m drive, comfortable solo distance.
EV Driver
0 DC fast chargers along the route. Coverage: unknown.
First-Time Driver
Mostly highway driving (64%). Some complex stretches to watch for.
Drive Character
This drive is primarily highway-focused, with 64% of your travel occurring on major thoroughfares. You will spend the bulk of your time navigating the Eisenhower Expressway, which accounts for your longest uninterrupted stretch of 12.1 miles. The route transitions from the dense, high-traffic environment of the city onto the expressway before eventually shifting to local roads like South Ashland Avenue and York Road. Expect a functional, high-speed experience for the majority of the trip as you transition out of the metropolitan area. The character of the road changes from wide, multi-lane highway stretches to more standard suburban surface streets as you approach your destination.
Most of the miles stay on highways, which makes pacing and fuel planning easier than turn-by-turn city driving.
There are about 19 navigation steps in the underlying route data, so the final approach matters more than the middle miles.
Eisenhower Expressway is the longest continuous segment at about 12.1 miles.
Elevation Profile
Mostly flat terrain
699 ft584 ft
Total Climb
125 ft
Total Descent
51 ft
Highest Point
699 ft
~16.3 mi in
Elevation Range
115 ft
How Hard Is This Drive?
This is a straightforward highway drive that stays mostly on Eisenhower Expressway and South Ashland Avenue. This route has several spots where lane changes, forks, or exits need your full attention. The trickiest moment comes around 2.7 miles in near West Van Buren Street.
Driving Effort10/10
Focused - lots of decisions in a short distance, but it is over quickly
Balances navigation complexity with total wheel time.
This is a short but busy drive. With 16 decision points packed into just 19 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 31m.
Where does it get tricky?
The main spots that need attention: at 2.7 miles (West Van Buren Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 15 miles (I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 15.9 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
Critical Maneuvers
5 of 16 key points
These are the spots where you need to pay the most attention. Preview them before you drive.
6
2.7 mi into trip|~6m in|West Van Buren Street
Turn left onto West Van Buren Street
Lane positioning matters here
Use the left / straight lanes.
9
15 mi into trip|~23m in|I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Keep slight left at fork onto I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway toward I 88 West Toll, I 294 South Toll: Aurora, Indiana
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one
Use the slight left lane.
Exit 15A
Toward I 88 West Toll, I 294 South Toll: Aurora...
7
15.9 mi into trip|~25m in
Keep slight left at fork toward I 294 Toll South: Indiana
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the slight left lane.
Toward I 294 Toll South: Indiana
6
17.3 mi into trip|~27m in
Take the exit toward Cermak Road
Exit ramp - move to the correct lane early
Exit 29
Toward Cermak Road
7
17.5 mi into trip|~28m in
Keep slight left at fork
Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here
Use the straight / right lanes.
Towns Mentioned on Route Signs
Based on OSRM destination-sign hints, not a full list of every settlement the road passes.
On the drive from Chicago, IL to Oak Brook, IL, road signs begin pointing toward Indiana along the way.
Indiana
15 mi in|~23m|via I 88; IL 110
Main Roads
Road
Distance
Duration
Eisenhower Expressway
12.1 mi
16m
South Ashland Avenue
1.7 mi
3m
York Road
1 mi
2m
West Cermak Road
0.8 mi
1m
Tri-State Tollway
0.6 mi
1m
Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
0.5 mi
<1m
22nd Street
0.4 mi
<1m
West Van Buren Street
0.2 mi
<1m
Longest stretch:
Eisenhower Expressway
— 12.1 mi, about 16m
Turn-by-Turn Driving Directions
Step-by-step road directions between Chicago, IL and Oak Brook, IL.
1
Start on this road
0.2 mi·1 min·this road
2
At end of road, turn left onto West Cermak Road
0.8 mi·1 min·West Cermak Road
3
Turn right onto South Ashland Avenue
1.7 mi·3 min·South Ashland Avenue
4
Turn left onto West Van Buren Street
0.2 mi·28 sec·West Van Buren Street
Use the left / straight lanes.
5
Take the ramp
0.1 mi·16 sec
Toward I 290 West
6
Merge onto I 290; IL 110
12 mi·16 min·Eisenhower Expressway
Use the straight / slight right lanes.
7
Keep slight left at fork onto I 88; IL 110
0.5 mi·40 sec·Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway
Exit 15AToward I 88 West Toll, I 294 South Toll: Aurora, IndianaUse the slight left lane.
8
Take the exit
0.4 mi·50 sec
Toward I 294 South, IL 38 West: Indiana, Roosevelt Road
9
Keep slight left at fork
0.7 mi·1 min
Toward I 294 Toll South: IndianaUse the slight left lane.
10
Merge onto I 294
137 ft·1 sec·Tri-State Tollway
11
Keep slight left at fork onto I 294
0.5 mi·29 sec·Tri-State Tollway
12
Take the exit
468 ft·11 sec
13
Merge onto I 294
0.1 mi·35 sec·Tri-State Tollway
14
Take the exit
0.2 mi·22 sec
Exit 29Toward Cermak Road
15
Keep slight left at fork
227 ft·7 sec
Use the straight / right lanes.
16
Turn left onto 22nd Street
0.4 mi·47 sec·22nd Street
17
Turn left onto York Road
1.0 mi·2 min·York Road
Use the left lane.
18
Turn right onto Oak Brook Road
71 ft·1 sec·Oak Brook Road
19
Arrive at destination
Oak Brook Road
Fuel & Cost
Regular Gas
$2.97 one way
$5.94 round trip
$3.97/gal25.4 MPG avg7 kg CO2
Fuel Type
$/gal
One Way
Round Trip
midgrade
$4.36
$3.26
$6.52
premium
$4.89
$3.66
$7.31
diesel
$5.61
$4.19
$8.39
Estimated Tolls: $0.07
Tri-state Tollway
(0.6 mi)$0.04
Reagan Memorial Tollway
(0.5 mi)$0.03
Toll estimates based on average 2024-2025 rates. EZ-Pass/SunPass discounts may lower the actual cost.
Drive Cost (one way)
Fuel
$3
Tolls
$0
Total
$3
Estimated CO2 emission: 6.6 kg one way.
Prices: EIA weekly data, 2026-04-13.
Driving Electric?
About $2 in charging
· 0 stops
· 71% less CO2
Vehicle Type
kWh
Stops
DC Fast
Home Charge
Average EV
5.7
0
$1.99
$0.91
Efficient EV
4.8
0
$1.66
$0.76
EV Truck/SUV
7.6
0
$2.66
$1.22
Gas CO2
7 kg
EV CO2
2 kg (71% less)
This trip is well within single-charge range for most EVs. No charging stops needed if you start fully charged.
DC fast charging avg $0.35/kWh. Home charging avg $0.16/kWh. US grid CO2: 0.39 kg/kWh.
Travel Intel
Current conditions at both ends of the drive.
Forecast as of Apr 16, 2026
Origin
Chicago, IL
Late night
in Chicago on Friday
Local time
2:06 AM
CDT
Current temp
70°F
Scattered Showers And Thunderstorms
W 10 to 15 mph39% chanceLive forecast
Flood Warning
Flood Warning issued April 16 at 10:43AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL
Flood Warning
Flood Warning issued April 16 at 10:43AM CDT by NWS Quad Cities IA IL
Destination
Oak Brook, IL
Late night
in Oak Brook on Friday
Local time
2:06 AM
CDT
Current temp
71°F
Unavailable
Live forecast
Time zone
Same local time
Origin and destination are on the same clock, so arrival timing is easier to judge at a glance.
Temperature spread
1 degrees warmer at arrival
A meaningful temperature swing is a good cue to rethink layers, water, and how soon you want to arrive.
Road read
31m on the road
The weather snapshot is not static. If you are leaving later, give both cities one more quick forecast check before departure.
Weather data from the National Weather Service. Conditions may change; check closer to your travel date.
Frequently Asked Questions
The drive from Chicago, IL to Oak Brook, IL covers 19 miles and takes about 31m without stops. Add 15-30 minutes for a fuel or rest stop on longer drives.
The main roads are Eisenhower Expressway, South Ashland Avenue, York Road. Most of the drive stays on highways, so watch for ramps and exits.
This is a comfortable same-day trip.
The midpoint is about 9.5 miles from Chicago, IL. Look for rest areas, gas stations, or food options near the halfway mark.
At current regular gas prices, expect to spend about $2.97 one way. This estimate uses 25.4 MPG — your actual cost will vary with your vehicle's fuel efficiency and current gas prices.
Leave by 9 AM and you'll arrive before lunch. Even a 4 PM departure gets you there before dark in summer.
This is a short but busy drive. With 16 decision points packed into just 19 miles, you will need to pay attention to lane changes and exits — but the whole thing is over in 31m.
The main spots that need attention: at 2.7 miles (West Van Buren Street): Lane positioning matters here; at 15 miles (I 88; IL 110 / Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway): Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here. Multiple destination signs - pick the right one; at 15.9 miles: Highway fork - watch signs carefully. Lane positioning matters here.
On the drive from Chicago, IL to Oak Brook, IL, road signs begin pointing toward Indiana along the way.
Mostly flat terrain. The route ranges from 584 ft to 699 ft elevation with about 125 ft of total climbing.
Data sources
The figures on this page are computed from open government and mapping datasets, not crowdsourced reviews. Distances and geometry come from
OSRM
over
OpenStreetMap.
Fuel cost uses
EIA
weekly regional averages.
Elevation is sampled from
USGS 3DEP.
Full methodology, refresh cadence, and limitations are documented on the
methodology page.
