The lodging per-diem rate of $159.00 is intended to cover the costs of one night's lodging at a hotel in Chicago, based on the average daily rate in the local lodging industry.Many hotels and motels offer business travellers rooms at exactly the local per-diem rate.The meals & incidentals rate (M&IE rate) of $71.00 is intended to cover the costs of a single days' worth of meals and incidental costs (such as tips and parking) based on the average cost for these expenses in the Chicago area.If you spend less than the $71.00 per diem, you can generally keep the remainder.n the Chicago per-diem area, per-diem rates vary month by month due to seasonal pricing changes in the area. Month-by-month rates for 2015 are listed in the above table. The federal government provides one lodging per-diem for each night travelled, and one meals & incidentals per-diem for each full day travelled.