From what I've been told by buds who lease in IL and a couple who actually have an outfitting biz up there, the disease DID really hammer them. BUT I can't help but think that the overwhelming pressure essentially EVERYWHERE in IL has had to have SOME KIND of affect on the trophy herd as well???
You can't turn a tv show on, pick up a magazine or read online about deer hunting without the vast majority of it being about ILLINOIS!!! I swear it seems like EVERYONE is either up there or on their way across the river to KY!
Big deer (150+ class) bucks are tough enough to produce as it is, when you start talking about 170+ that mark gets even HIGHER and then all of the sudden over the last couple of years 190" is talked about like they are almost expected! NOWHERE ELSE in whitetail country is constantly hammered yet still expected to produce these animals!