If the weather is nice it is the perfect time to be in Chicago, it's beautiful during spring.
Unfortunately much of the greatness of Chicago is no where near Union station. Still, I'd recommend walking east (which will take you towards downtown AND the lake) and seeing what you run into. There are of course a multitude of restaurants/bars/etc. downtown but if you are on a budget they are barely worth considering, I'd say stop in a Mariano's or Jewel and making a ghetto picnic basket and lurking the lake shore with that. (Though you may want to go North as well as East since straight east from Union station is not a great section of lakefront.)
If you happen to be in a on a Thursday the Art Institute is free to 'any Illinois residents' which means they ask for an zip code (They are all 606-- in the Chicagoland area) and so it is essentially free for anyone. Same is true of the MCA on Tuesdays. Both are always worth going to.
Unfortunately much of the greatness of Chicago is no where near Union station. Still, I'd recommend walking east (which will take you towards downtown AND the lake) and seeing what you run into. There are of course a multitude of restaurants/bars/etc. downtown but if you are on a budget they are barely worth considering, I'd say stop in a Mariano's or Jewel and making a ghetto picnic basket and lurking the lake shore with that. (Though you may want to go North as well as East since straight east from Union station is not a great section of lakefront.)
If you happen to be in a on a Thursday the Art Institute is free to 'any Illinois residents' which means they ask for an zip code (They are all 606-- in the Chicagoland area) and so it is essentially free for anyone. Same is true of the MCA on Tuesdays. Both are always worth going to.