[Al Skierkiewicz]

Northwestern is very close to my home and the Midwest Regional was held there for a few years. It is a large school in a suburb just north of Chicago and part of it is right on the lake. It is well repsected for other curriculums like medicine and biology, economics, art, etc. Easy to grab public transportation downtown, and easy to get to from O'Hare airport. Tuition is pricey though, I think it was in the upper $30k and maybe higher for some curriculums.
I attended Bradley University in Peoria, IL, and so did my son. It is a smaller school (5000-6000 undergrads) in a smaller town, but is well known for engineering. And you would be close to the Cat teams in the Peoria area if you would like to mentor.