Only five minutes from O'Hare International Airport and with direct connections to Chicago area expressways, it's possible to get there quick, wherever there is. To the south, O'Hare International, the world's busiest airport, residents and business people have access to 23 domestic and 23 international airlines, with flights to all major cities in the U.S. and the world. To the north, private and corporate aircraft are based at nearby Palwaukee Airport, a facility with three runways, one that is 5,000 feet in length. Des Plaines commerce and industry is served by Chicago and Northwestern, Wisconsin Central, and Milwaukee Road railways. Commuters to Chicago board fast, comfortable Metra commuter trains at one of two stations, one in the downtown area of the city, and another on the city's northwest side.
PACE buses provide mass transportation to points within the city and to neighboring communities.
Both Metra and PACE are services of the Regional Transportation Authority. Taxicab service and several limousine services are available. Easy access to everywhere is one of the many advantages offered by Des Plaines. They held no titles to the land. Into this environment in 1835 came Socrates Rand and his parents, among the earliest recorded settlers of the area.