What is your degree in, as that might help narrow down where you want to go. A lot of those Universities are fantastic, but they specialize more in specific areas.
I can give you the most info on U of IL because I'm from Chicago and have many, many friends who went there post-high school. It's known world-wide for its engineering programs; everything from social to aerospace. A good friend of mine went there for a degree to basically be a rocket scientists. But that's not the only thing it's good for either. Their arts programs are fantastic, as are all their degrees for journalism, media, etc. Guys like Roger Ebert came out of UI and will defend the school to their dying breath as the best in the world.
Apart from that, I know very little about their other degrees. I have been told by students from UI and other schools that their courses, in pretty much any degree you go after, and better than about 70% of any major University out there. They have something like 16 or 17 collegse there, so you can find almost anything you want and it will be a solid education.
BUT, since you're only going to be there for a short time, you're probably going to want to know more about the area than the specializations of the school itself. UI has one of the best campuses in the world. Champaign, Urbana pretty much operates because of the school. It's a little complicated to get the hang of at first, because there's not really a campus. It's more like a small version of a big city, and your campus buildings are all over it. But the city itself is super cool, and it boasts one of the best libraries in the world and an awesome quad to just hang out at. Any food you could want, and a billion programs and clubs to get involved in. And if you want to visit Chicago, it's about 2 hours away via bus or train. Very accessible. Chicago is a fun city. They have some of the best museums in the world all in close proximity. You can get something called a museum pass, and visit the Museum of Science and Industry, the Field Museum, the Chicago Art Museum, and the Shed Aquarium for relatively cheap.
And pizza. If you like good pizza, that is a legitimate reason to be near Chicago. I just moved to the West coast, and evne their absolute best down-town Portland pizza places aren't better than hole-in-the-wall take out diners in Chicago.
So that's my rant about UI and Chicago. I can't go to far into the rest, but I think you'd really enjoy yourself there.
