Yeah, Illinois gun laws are ridiculous. I'm 10 miles away from the border, but can't carry if I cross the border. I have to unload the gun and store it just to cross the state line. The crappy thing is there aren't a lot of states that honor Indiana's carry permits, most likely because we don't have to take any classes to get the permit. We simply fill out a form, go to the police station to get fingerprinted, then wait 4 to 6 weeks and get a little pink card in the mail with our information on it. No pic on the card, just name and info.
I'm not on any gun forums, so don't know if there are any good ones. Quick google search brought up this site:
http://mwgtforums.com/
Might also try these two:
http://www.icarry.org/forums.html
http://www.illinoiscarry.com/