Funny enough, I am in between doctor appointments right now in Des Plaines, and I dropped by a place called Kaffeccino. There\'s seating for about 40 people, full Starbucks-type menu, plus convenient store/ice cream goods in the back - definitely your ma n pa type coffee house, although it\'s not too cheezy. For kicks, I popped in my wireless card, et voila!, a \'very good\' signal strength connection. The connection\'s wide open.
I talked to the girl at the counter, and she said that the wifi is free to use and that the place isn\'t ever ~too~ busy on the weekends, so a group of 10-12 should be just fine. This is certainly an option, and VERY close to I-294 for those from Wisconsin. The only problem is that there is only one open set of outlets, although I could certainly bring a power strip or two
If interested, the place is right in downtown Des Plaines, just to the west of the library, right behind the Metra train station off of Northwest Highway. Compared to the wifi bars and Panera Breads that I\'ve checked in the city, this place or CoffeeHaus defn get my vote! Also, I could give directions here from either 294, 90/94, or Northwest Highway since I\'m from Des Plaines.