You are going to hear this a LOT. Chicago and the areas and highways around it are really RV Unfriendly. Nothing but toll roads, 24hr traffic jams, and very broken pavement.
Our daughter lives in Chicago and we took our RV there last year. It was a great trip and really fun to be with our daughter. But it was very challenging. We actually "dry-camped" for three days in the McCormick Place Truck Mashalling Yard on Lake Shore Drive. But getting there, and getting out of there was very difficult and stressful.
We actually followed your trip. We went from Chicago to Cleveland on that trip as my Sister lives in Akron. Only we went the really scenic way... going north from Chicago, through Wisconsin to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and down through Michigan to Ohio and on to Cleveland.
I posted a long thread for the whole trip here. Here's a link:
https://www.winnieowners.com/forums/...ep-360914.html
If you do much searching online you'll find most of the posts center on how to AVOID "Chicagoland" due to the problems I've mentioned.
But in year's past we have gone from the Wisconsin Dells to Cleveland traveling through Chicago to Indiana, then Michigan to Cleveland via I-80. So, I've seen it both ways in my RV. After surviving Chicago, the horrible condition of the Illinois, Indiana and Ohio Turnpikes (I-80) just about broke us.
Most folks that want to skip Chicago recommend a path as far south as Indianapolis, which is where you are heading first.
Whatever you do, get a NC QuickPass transponder for your RV. The North Carolina QuickPass is really the best most economical EZ Pass and covers the most states. You'll find it working for you on all the Chicago Toll roads and all the I-80 Turnpikes.
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