I'm in Indiana, roughly 4.5 hours from Chicago. I'm nearly dead center between Louisville, KY and Indianapolis, IN.
I've met Tim aka Duckman at Illinois Pinball. I'd recommend coming over for Pinball Expo at some point if you can. I only made the show for an hour last year to deliver some games I sold, and this year, I'm in a friends wedding, so I'll only make 1 day of the show. Real bummer that the schedule worked out that way this year.
Thanks for the kind words, if it wasn't fun, I wouldn't do it!