The last final hurrah for jury duty is a site I want to recommend, ParkWhiz.

The site is simple: type in where you want to park and when, and they’ll show you a map of different options and prices. You select the one you want, pay online, and print out your confirmation / receipt. When you show up at the garage, your spot is reserved. Instead of paying, you just give them your receipt and that’s that.

I was veeeery skeptical of this. It just seemed too neat and tidy to actually work. However, I used the service a total of I believe seven times at two different garages over the course of jury duty, and I never had any trouble. Not only that, but I also saved a ton of money! I never paid more than $13 to park in the heart of downtown Chicago, despite a lot of the other jurors paying $25 and even $35 for a day. So if we assume I saved an average of $17 a day, that’s $119 saved!!

If you’re coming to Chicago for the day (I’m looking at you Wisconsin relatives), there’s no reason not to use this site (this is a totally unsolicited endorsement, and I am not receiving anything from ParkWhiz for it. I really just think it’s that good). Get your parking taken care of ahead of time, and not only save money but also the stress of trying to find parking. The confirmation comes with explicit instructions on how to get to the garage, instructions on what to do when you get to the garage (i.e. “Tell them you’ve pre-paid with ParkWhiz”), and even a photograph of what the entrance to the garage looks like.

It looks like they are in a lot of other cities besides Chicago as well. Use them without hesitation!