Apparently, the Historic Lincoln Hotel (which was one of the hotels on our
list) closed down yesterday (!) for long-term renovations. They have fired all the current staff and had all the current guests move out.
This means that those AMS participants who might have made reservations at this hotel will not be able to stay there and have to change their reservations ASAP to one of the other hotels.

Participants should make their own arrangements directly with the hotel of their choice and state that they will be attending the "AMS" or "American Mathematical Society meeting" or "AMS meeting”. The AMS is not responsible for rate changes or for the quality of the accommodations.

Illini Union Hotel, Illini Union, 1401 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL 61801; 217-333-1241. Rates start at \$90 per night. This hotel is in a building right next door to the Math Department. Continental breakfast is included. The deadline for reservations is Feb 27, 2009 .

Hampton Inn, 1200 W. University Ave., Urbana, IL 61801; 217-337-1100. Rates start at \$89 per night. The hotel is approximately a 15-minute walk to the Math Department. Cooked breakfast is included. The deadline for reservations is February 28, 2009.

SEE NOTE ABOVE - Historic Lincoln Hotel, 209 S. Broadway, Urbana, IL 61801; 217-384-8800. Rates start at \$80 per night. The hotel is about 20 minutes walk (about 1 mile) from the Math Department and there is also bus service. The deadline for reservations is February 26, 2009.

The following three hotels are located next to one another and are approximately 2 miles from the Math Department. There is public bus service between the hotels and the Math Department on Friday (all day); Saturday morning (limited), afternoon and evening; Sunday afternoon.

The UIUC Math Department will provide additional shuttle service from these three hotels to the AMS meeting on Saturday and Sunday mornings. All three hotels have free shuttle service to the Champaign airport and to the train station.

Hawthorn Suites, 101 Trade Center Drive, Champaign, IL 61820; 217-395-3400. Rates start at \$92.99. Breakfast is included. The deadline for reservations is March 27, 2009.

Homewood Suites by Hilton, 1417 S. Neil, Champaign, IL 61820; 217-352-9960. Rates start at \$119. Breakfast is included. The deadline for reservations is February 27, 2009. For reservations, please go to the website at http://homewoodsuites.hilton.com/en/hw/groups/personalized/CMIHWHW-AMS-20090326/index.jhtml

Hilton Garden Inn, 1501 S. Neil, Champaign, IL 61820; 217-352-9970. Rates start at \$129 per night. The deadline for reservations is February 25, 2009.

The shuttle bus will first load passengers at Hawthorn Suites, then drive up to Homewood Suites and load the people from Homewood Suites and Hilton Garden Inn there, and then drive up to the Altgeld Hall (the main Math Department building).

The departure times posted below are approximate and are for departures from Hawthorn Suites. The departures from the Homewood Suites will be a few minutes later. The shuttle schedule is the same for both Saturday, March 28 and Sunday, March 29. The shuttle buses are yellow school buses which say "First Student" on the side.

Food Service

The university will be officially closed during the time of the meeting due to Spring Break. A list of restaurants will be available at the registration desk. A large number of restaurants and coffee shops are located on Green Street, immediately to the west of Altgeld Hall. A number of (mostly fast food) dining places are available in the basement of the Illini Union. A selected list of restaurants and lunch places in and near campus is available at http://www.visitchampaigncounty.org/locals/index.php?category=94.

Local Information

All the talks will take place in two buildings: Altgeld Hall (the main UIUC math department building) and Noyes Lab. The 50-minute Invited Addresses will be in Altgeld Hall, Room 314. Both Altgeld Hall and Noyes Lab are located next to the Illini Union. A UIUC campus map is available at http://illinois.edu/ricker/CampusMap.

Please visit the webpage maintained by the UIUC Mathematics Department for more local information relating to the meeting: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/ams09.

Other Activities

Book Sales: Stop by the on-site AMS Bookstore and review the newest titles from the AMS, enjoy up to 25% off all AMS publications, or take home an AMS t-shirt! Complimentary coffee will be served courtesy of AMS Membership Services. The AMS Book Exhibit will take place in the Math Library located on the 2nd floor of Altgeld Hall.

AMS Editorial Activity: An acquisitions editor from the AMS book program will be present to speak with prospective authors. If you have a book project that you would like to discuss with the AMS, please stop by the book exhibit.

Parking

On Saturday and Sunday the parking in university parking garages and university parking lots is free (unless the signs indicate otherwise). On Sunday most of the street parking, including university and city parking meters, is free (unless the signs indicate otherwise; note that short-term red parking meters are never free). There is a university parking garage (lot C7) about one block west of Altgeld Hall at the corner of John Street and 6th street. Additional nearby university parking garages are at the corner of Daniel and Fifth (lot C10), about two blocks west and two blocks south of Altgeld; and the Krannert Center Parking Garage (lot D5), at the corner of Goodwin Avenue and Illinois Street.

Lots C7 and C10 are shown in the map http://www.parking.uiuc.edu/campus_map/map2-3.html (Altgeld Hall is building no. 26 and Illini Union is building no. 23 in this map) and lot D5 is shown in the map http://www.parking.uiuc.edu/campus_map/map2-4.html. The main campus parking map is available at http://www.parking.uiuc.edu/campus_map/.

The parking garages C7 and C10 have, at their top, a number of 6-hour parking meeters that can be used on Friday afternoon.

For Friday parking we recommend the commercial parking lot on Green Street a little over one block west of Altgeld Hall. The entrance to the parking lot is from Green Street (north side), next to the Legends Bar.

Registration and Meeting Information

The registration desk will be in Room 314 Altgeld Hall on Friday, March 27 and in the Department of Mathematics Common Room, 321 Altgeld Hall on Saturday, March 28. Registration will be open from noon to 5 p.m. on Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. Talks will take place in Altgeld Hall and Noyes Lab.

Registration fees: (payable on-site only) US\$40 for AMS or CMS members; US\$60 for nonmembers; US\$5 for students, unemployed mathematicians, and emeritus members. Fees are payable by cash, check, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express.

Social Event

The UIUC department of mathematics will host a reception for the AMS meeting participants on Saturday, March 28, 6:15 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the South Lounge of Illini Union. Light snacks, refreshments, and wine will be served.

Travel

By Air: Willard Airport (CMI) is located in Champaign county on Route 45 about 6 miles south of campus. Owned and operated by the University of Illinois, the airport is currently served by two carriers, American Eagle (an affiliate of American Airlines) and Northwest Airlink (an affiliate of Northwest airlines). American Airlines has direct flights between Champaign and Chicago O'Hare (ORD) and between Champaign and Dallas Fort Worth (DFW). Northwest has direct flights between Champaign and Detroit (DTW). Taxi service from the Champaign airport to the campus is approximately US\$8-\$14 per person. LEX Express (217-352-6682) runs regular taxi shuttle service from the Champaign airport to town and they usually have a representative available at the airport. Other taxi companies servicing the Champaign airport can be reached at: 217-355-1328, 217-355-3553, 217-367-0000.

Other regional airports served by shuttles to the university campus include Midway airport (MDW) and O'Hare airport (ORD) in Chicago; Central Illinois Regional Airport (BMI) in Bloomington, Illinois; and the Indianapolis Airport (IND). It takes about 2.5-3 hours by car to get from the Chicago area airports to Champaign. The BMI airport is about 50 miles away from Champaign. Plane tickets to BMI are often cheaper and more airlines fly there. The Indianapolis airport is a little closer than the Chicago airports and traffic between Indianapolis and Champaign is usually better.

The Illini Shuttle (http://www.illinishuttle.com/) runs buses from the Chicago airports to campus, and the LEX shuttle (http://www.lincolnlandexpress.com/) runs buses from the Chicago airports, the Bloomington airport, and the Indianapolis airport. Please make advance reservations when using these shuttle services. When using the LEX shuttle online reservation site, note that the stop right next to the Illini Union and the math department is called "U of I Follets".

Driving: Altgeld Hall is on the southeast corner at the intersection of Green and Wright Streets. The directions below will get you to this intersection. There is a campus map available at http://illinois.edu/ricker/CampusMap.

Northbound on I-57 (from Effingham): Exit east at exit 235A onto University Avenue. Continue east for several miles, under the railroad tracks, to 6th Street. Turn right on 6th Street and continue south to Green Street or (one block later) John Street. Altgeld Hall is just one block east of the intersection of 6th and John.

Northbound on I-57 (alternative): Exit east onto University Avenue where eastbound I-72 terminates, go east two miles, turn right onto Neil Street (traffic signal), go south 0.25 miles, turn left onto Green Street (traffic signal), go east seven blocks to Wright Street. (Warning: University Avenue is one-way eastbound in this area, so on the return trip take Church Street, which is two blocks further north.)

Southbound on I-57 (from Chicago): Take exit 235A and proceed as above.

Eastbound on I-72 (from Decatur and Springfield): Continue into Champaign onto University Avenue, go east two miles, turn right onto Neil Street, go south 0.25 miles, turn left onto Green Street (traffic signal), go east seven blocks to Wright Street. (Warning: University Avenue is one-way eastbound in this area, so on the return trip take Church Street, which is two blocks further north.)

Eastbound on I-74 (from Normal, Bloomington, and Peoria): Exit south at Prospect Street (first exit in Champaign), go south two miles, turn left on Green Street (traffic signal), go east to 6th Street.

Westbound on I-74 (from Indianapolis): Exit south on Lincoln Avenue to Green Street and turn right on Green Street (traffic signal), go west 0.5 mile to Wright Street.

Local Transportation: The Champaign-Urbana MTD runs a regular public bus service in the area. A detailed bus schedule and bus maps are available at http://www.cumtd.com/.

Note that the service on weekends and in the evenings is reduced. During the day on Friday bus no. 10 (Gold) can be used for transportation between Illini Union and the three hotels near the intersection of Kirby Avenue and Neil Street (Hawthorn Suites, Homewood Suites, and Hilton Garden Inn). On Friday evening as well as at all times on Saturday and Sunday bus no. 100 (Yellow) can be used for the same purpose. Note that the routes of the buses no. 10 and no. 100 are a little different. The Saturday daytime map and schedule for bus no. 100 (northbound, to campus) are available at http://www.cumtd.com/routeschedules/ByRoute.aspx?routeID=35&routegroupID=11 and the corresponding Sunday daytime info is available at http://www.cumtd.com/routeschedules/ByRoute.aspx?routeID=35&routegroupID=5. The bus stop for bus no. 100 nearest to the three hotels mentioned above is stop (K) in the schedule, at the corner of Kirby and State. The bus stop next to the math department is stop (N), at the corner of Green and Wright.

The Friday daytime eastbound (towards campus) map and schedule for bus no. 10 is available at http://www.cumtd.com/routeschedules/ByRoute.aspx?routeID=21&routegroupID=1. The nearest stop to the three hotels mentioned above is at the corner of Neil and Kirby.

On Saturday and Sunday mornings the university will provide additional free shuttle bus service from the Hilton Garden Inn to the AMS meeting location.

It is also expected (but not yet definite) that the ZIPCAR service will start operating in the Champaign-Urbana area in the spring 2009 semester. Check for details at http://www.zipcar.com after January 2009.

Car Rental

Avis Rent A Car is the official car rental company for the meeting. Depending on variables such as location, length of rental, and size of vehicle, Avis will offer participants the best available rate which can range from 5%-25% discount off regular rates. Participants must use the assigned Meeting Avis Discount Number (J098887) and meet Avis rate requirements to receive the discount. (Rate discounts are available at all corporate and participating licensee locations.) Reservations can be made by calling 800-331-1600 or online at http://www.avis.com.

All car rentals include unlimited free mileage and are available to renters 25 years and older. Renters must also meet Avis's driver and credit requirements. Return to the same rental location

Weather

In late March, the average high temperature is about 55 degrees and low is approximately 35 degrees. For local UIUC weather, visit http://www.atmos.uiuc.edu/weather/.

Information for International Participants

Visa regulations are continually changing for travel to the United States. Visa applications may take from three to four months to process and require a personal interview, as well as specific personal information. International participants should view the important informationabout traveling to the U.S. found at http://www7.nationalacademies.org/visas/Traveling_to_US.html and http://travel.state.gov/visa/index.html. If you need a preliminary conference invitation in order to secure a visa, please send your request to dls@ams.org.

If you discover you do need a visa, the National Academies website (see above) provides these tips for successful visa applications:

* Visa applicants are expected to provide evidence that they are intending to return to their country of residence. Therefore, applicants should provide proof of "binding" or sufficient ties to their home country or permanent residence abroad. This may include documentation of the following:

• family ties in home country or country of legal permanent residence
• property ownership
• bank accounts
• employment contract or statement from employer stating that the position will continue when the employee returns;

* Visa applications are more likely to be successful if done in a visitor's home country than in a third country;

* Applicants should present their entire trip itinerary, including travel to any countries other than the United States, at the time of their visa application;

* Include a letter of invitation from the meeting organizer or the U.S. host, specifying the subject, location and dates of the activity, and how travel and local expenses will be covered;

* If travel plans will depend on early approval of the visa application, specify this at the time of the application;

* Provide proof of professional scientific and/or educational status (students should provide a university transcript).

This list is not to be considered complete. Please visit the web sites above for the most up-to-date information.