"The key is to get as far away from Chicago as you can."
Yes this is number one.
And with living in Southern Illinois, DO NOT TELL ANYONE THAT YOU ARE FROM CHICAGO!!!!!!!!! We hear it and see it all the time, "Yeah, we were to told in Chicago that we can come to So. Il and hunt anywhere, its all public property property"!!!!!!! That or "Yeah, EVERYONE will let ya hunt on their property, just go on out and hunt!!!!! No we don't. There is ALOT of public property, there is more PRIVATE property. A lot of people will allow you to hunt IF and WHEN you ask permission, a lot of people don't. And they are the ones who mess it up for others. And yes, I used to work up there for 5 yrs.