So long as you can qualify for the cards, the Citi/AA personal and business offers might be your best bet. Current offers here (check the whole thread, the best current offers are spread through the thread, not necessarily summarized in post #1): Citi/AA.

That would get you 100K miles. Your spending patterns indicate you could get the mileage in two to three months, so you'd probably have the miles in hand by no later than May 1. So long as you don't mind flying in coach, you can fly AA nonstop from Chicago to Paris. Fly in the fall, and you should be able to snag two RT coach fares at the offseason rate of 40K each. Be flexible about your dates, and the availability should be there before 12/31.

You might even be able to qualify for a hotel credit card before your trip that would allow you to defray some of your hotel expenses. Or, given that you already have the Chase Freedom, perhaps the Chase Sapphire Preferred would be good.

Good luck!