I watched the last full solar eclipse a few years at a park on the banks of the Mississippi. Illinois is the mirror opposite of California for me: I like Northern CA and Southern IL. There are some nice parks that I wouldn't mind revisiting again. Garden of the Gods is a pretty cool place to stargaze.
Discussion
We are in northern Illinois but in a little country town. We haven’t been to garden of the gods yet but we love going to starved rock and out to the Mississippi River as well