Cycling from Oak Park to Chicago loop
 

I recently moved from a Chicago north suburb (Niles) to a Chicago west suburb (Lombard). I used to take Elston Ave downtown. Now that I live west I need to get from Oak Park to the loop through the west side of the city. Can someone recommend a relatively safe route? I've heard Lake St. is popular but someone in my bike club was assaulted and attempted to bike-jacked (could unclip him from the pedals) pretty bad on Lake st. I've also heard Madison is decent.

not sure if this is allowed, but if you don't get any response here, there is a local forum called thechainlink that may have folks that can help.