I had actually went to the Chicago Forum because my trip centered around actually going to Chicago. The Ramada in Hammond was recommended and I am really glad I took this suggestion. It was a very nice, clean hotel and the staff was super friendly and accomodating. The detached restaurant, Johnel's had very good food and the portions were extremely large even the desserts. They even delivered to the room too. We had so much food left over that we brought some back to the hotel and a staff member overhead us saying that we had no where to keep the food. She immediately requested a refrig for our room and it was there in a jiffy! For the price this was a very nice hotel and the commute to Chicago was a snap on the South Shore train whose station was within a mile of the hotel. This hotel was very close to lots of familiars....KFC, bowling alley across the street, Speedway gas station, White Castle, Aurelio's Pizza, Arbys to name a few. But with Johnel's just a hop across the parking lot we didn't need to go to any of the fast food places. The restaurant prices were very reasonable too!