Peoria/Chicago—where to live in between?

[Retired in Illinois]

Consider Princeton, Il. Princeton sits right on I-80 plus it is a stop for Amtrak twice a day to Chicago. It's a nice small city with a nice list of shops and city services. Good road south to Peoria. Many small towns along the way.

Oh, yes. I don't live in Princeton I live 22mi away. Being retired I don't want to move but I think Princeton would be a good choice.

[SavannahMick]

If you lived in Normal you can take the train into downtown Chicago for $16 and it takes 2 hr 15 minutes! It is extremely safe and large enough at 130,000 to get your shopping. Also, driving to Peoria is like 45 minutes and a very easy drive... except if there is a major snow storm. Huge big box stores in East Peoria (Costco and more) and to drive 40 minutes for this is easy peasy.
Trying to take the train from Peoria results in a 5+ hour journey.
Nice thing about Normal/Bloomington is that it has a high education level, low crime, and will hold home value much better then any other option. In Illinois the homes are cheap cheap cheap due to the taxes. But you get so much more house for less money so it balances
out. Trick is to buy in an area where you can resell your house and not risk having it on the market for 2 years.
Cheers!!