toll free through Chicago

I80 and I39/90 has 2 toll sections, a brief one in the south were it joins I294, and in the north, Rockford to the border.

The only way around the south one is to take I94 north/south to the city center.

Coming south from Door Cty, the direct route is around/through Milwaukee, on I94. But I94 north of Chicago is toll. US41, Skokie Hwy, lets you bypass this toll section. It's divided, but has surface intersections in the north.

Years ago when living in Chicago and vacationing in Door Cty, we took mostly surface hwys along the shore north of Milwaukee. Now I43 runs south from Greenbay. And it continues SW from Milwaukee to I90, if you want to take advantage of I39. Otherwise you'd have take I41 to Fondulac, and something else to Janesville.

Sunday afternoon traffic back into Chicago will be heavy. But if you get to Illinois by noon, the drive through the city should be reasonable.

I always go I-90/80 over to I-39 and north. less hassle,
bumpy

Honestly the few dollars saved on tolls isn't worth the time going around via I-39, and that's far more than 30 minutes. It takes nearly an hour to get from Milwaukee to the I-39 junction in Beloit. I go that away a lot.

Are you concerned about stopping for tolls, or just the cost? If it's just the time involved you can run through the I-Pass lanes and pay online later.

Whoops - missed the Sunday part. Not sure what time you'll be going through but the White Sox play Sunday afternoon at 1:10. Their stadium is on 35th on the south side right next to the expressway. If you leave early enough you could beat the game traffic.

I saw the I-39 detour but it looks like a lot more than a half hour extension. thanks for the tips, I'll check it out. Remember, we're going through on a Sunday

You could avoid Chicago by taking I-39 though central Illinois to Bloomington. There would be one tollbooth to pass through that way. You could head to Indianapolis from there. It would probably add a half hour to your trip, but the traffic would be a whole lot better.
In case you don't know, you can set Google Maps to avoid tolls.

I94 South to us41 to i94.

Skip rush hour