In that case, you also might not want to rule out Waterloo, Bloomington/Normal, Dubuque, Rockford, Peoria, STL, Omaha, and MSP when reviewing various options...maybe not for this trip, but in general. I think that, given the locations you have thrown out, you may find driving to Chicago vs. Saint Louis, Omaha, and Minneapolis/St. Paul to be pretty much a wash. Everything else which I mentioned should be closer. We Eastern Iowans have to be an adaptive lot to get the best deal.