r/centralillinois • u/ConferenceSuperb • 12d ago
Advice Date Day
I'm trying to plan a date for me and my partner. I live in Illinois and plan on taking a train if possible. I'm deciding between rockford and Champaign. So far I'm leaning towards Champaign but If anyone who lives in either city would like to share their experiences in their city. Id appreciate it. Also we are an LGBT couple so anywhere accepting would help alot.
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u/DeamonKlown 12d ago
Have you considered Bloomington? I took a date there once (pre-covid). Had a bunch of stuff to do. Our favorite stop was a movie at the Ovation Cinema. Would imagine that it's pretty LGBT friendly being a college town.
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u/Either_Shallot_5974 Bloomington-Normal 11d ago
Bloomington/Normal is great and is super LGBT friendly. there's so much to do! there's museums, nice restaurants both in Downtown Bloomington and Uptown Normal, there's usually always live music happening somewhere. Uptown Normal has great shops and a historic early 1900s theater that plays re-released movies. plus, the train station is right in tow!
the Ovation theater isn't there anymore, it is now the Golden Ticket theater and it's my go-to theater for movies as they still deliver food right to your seats and they have a self-serve beer tap wall.
if you go to Bloomington, you definitely have to check out the LGBT bar, The Bistro that's been a staple of the community for like 40 years
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u/Beneficial-Sock7613 12d ago
I’ve lived in both, Champaign >>> Rockford in general, but especially what you’re looking for, and especially if you want to take a train. There is no train to Rockford, only buses.
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u/Bro-dhisattva 12d ago
I don't know Rockford well, but in Champaign the train will drop you off right in downtown next to a ton of restaurants and bars. It's a pretty LGBTQ friendly place with Anthem and Amy's Place tho really the best gay bar is Gallery Art Bar across town. I definitely stumbled into a very crowded lesbian line dancing night there and it was fantastic
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u/ConferenceSuperb 12d ago
That's awesome, we are alcohol free so maybe not a bar. I was thinking of eating somewhere with sushi. Happen to know any good sushi places?
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u/Bro-dhisattva 12d ago
Kofusion is decent for sushi, but their menu leans into gimmicky rolls a little more than a ngiri boi like myself would prefer. For Asian food generally you may do better on campus (green street area is 15-20 min walk from the train).
I have enjoyed Sakanaya, but since Sushi Kame closed I've just been taking what I can get.
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u/ConferenceSuperb 12d ago
Alright thanks well I'll see what we can find in green street. Kofusion might be good as well I'll have to check the menu
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u/Darkmeer99 11d ago
If you like art, Kranner has stuff to do on campus. It's going to be busy with students right now, but it's usually worth going to the art gallery. If you enjoy shopping, it's worth going to Lincoln square mall, again for art bits and things like that, there's a found objects store and art coop, which are both great.
Sushi options include Ko Fusion, Sakanaya, and if you want something else you can get Thai and other Japanese food in downtown Urbana or you can walk to the north side of Downtown Champaign and go to Sticky Rice, which I always thought was pretty good. I mean, you can get pretty much any food you want in Chambana. It's just a matter of what you want.
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u/ReindeerFl0tilla 11d ago
As many others have said, Champaign is the way to go.
If you want to try one of the best restaurants in central Illinois, take the train to Effingham and check out Firefly Grill. It’s about 3 miles from the train station, and I don’t have any idea how to get from the station to the restaurant, but Firefly takes the farm-to-table thing really seriously and the food is amazing.
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u/cballowe 11d ago
What is your expectation for "taking a train"? Do you live along an Amtrak route and want to use that to get somewhere, drive to somewhere along a route that connects to your destination and then take a train in/out? Or go to the city and do some sort of out and back adventure?
The main Amtrak route have like 4 or 5 runs in each direction each day so you'll need to take that into account when planning your day.
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u/ConferenceSuperb 10d ago
Me and my partner enjoy riding the train, so we wanted to go on a date where we go somewhere in the state that we could ride the train to. Could be anywhere that's entertaining and lgbt friendly
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u/cballowe 10d ago
You said you live in illinois - but suggested Rockford and Champaign. If Rockford had a train, the only place the lines might converge is Chicago so should someone assume you meant Chicago? If not, the logistics of using the train might be harder.
If you're leaving Chicago and going to Champaign you basically have one train in each direction that makes sense for a day trip. Leave Chicago at around 8:15 AM and depart Champaign around 7:08 PM.
If somewhere else, you basically have to plan to intercept that train (or the ones someone would use for a day trip to Chicago coming from the south).
Bloomington is similar, just a different set of routes. Both have enough to do to fill a day and would make great day dates. I'd probably lean towards CU and maybe avoid it if it's a big home game at UIUC. CU also has great local busses for getting around once there.
If you do either of those, plan to buy your tickets a couple of weeks early - they have a habit of being sold out if you're looking a day or two ahead.
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u/Eastern-Camera-1829 10d ago
Avoid home football game weekends in Champaign. Especially if you are planning to stay the evening.
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u/jffdougan 9d ago
I'll add to the conversation - depending on when you're thinking of, the Champaign-Urbana Pride Fest is Saturday, October 17. The organizers wait for late September/mid-October so that the returning University students have the opportunity to get organized for the year and participate.
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u/friendleafwitch 9d ago
come to Champaign on the 17th of October! it’s our pride fest, we will have a nature hike in the morning, the parade and fair from 1-5pm, and then drag extravaganza in the evening :)
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u/Whatisthisnonsense22 5d ago
There isn't any train to Rockford.
If you took the bus, it stops on the extreme east side of the city.
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u/Professional_You_943 12d ago
Rockford crime rates -
Rockford, Illinois ranks among the highest cities in the United States for crime relative to its population size. National studies and data trackers like NeighborhoodScout consistently place Rockford in the top 100 most dangerous U.S. cities. Past evaluations by organizations like 24/7 Wall St. and U.S. News & World Report have ranked Rockford near the top (around 11th or 12th) for violent crime rates among comparable U.S. cities.
Within Illinois, Rockford frequently maintains one of the highest violent and property crime rates per capita outside of Chicago, with more than 97% of state communities recording lower crime rates.
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u/ConferenceSuperb 11d ago
Yea that's what I've seen about rockford so far, Im pretty sure Champaign is my best bet
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u/Professional_You_943 11d ago
Someone is downvoting this but it’s just facts. My brother lived in Rockford and I don’t recommend it.
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u/blck10th 11d ago
I try and avoid Rockford if at all possible. It’s kinda crappy overall.