This particular thread isn't very active. Yes, there are people from Illinois. There's a lady from Naperville who is active on the Wintersowing forum, but I can't remember her username off the top of my head. Welcome! This is a great site with lots of great people.

Heidi (Nebraska)

I am from SE Illinois and also new to the site. Would love to trade with any Midwestern gardener.

I am in Illinois near Decatur. It doesn't look like there much activity on this site

Midwest Gardening is very quiet as far as a thread goes. To trade seeds try looking at Exchanges-Seed Trade or Exchanges-Plant Trade. This site used to be called Gardenweb. It nearly closed completely, but Houzz 'added it' into their site. Many people have ditched it, but many are still here. I like the Round Robin thread, too. I am in a group that does a monthly exchange (FOTESS-Friends of the earth simple swaps). So I've been able to make connections with about 20 people. More personal than a single trade. It all depends on what you want. If you put up a trading list/ideabook then people know what you're looking for and what you have to trade.

My favorite swap is the Christmas Card Swap. We send Christmas cards to each other with seeds in them. Everyone puts their list up. That will be on the Round Robin soon, probably closer to Thanksgiving.

Heidi