US Cellular Rocks in the Chicago Area!
I have used their cell phone service for about 5? years now (since they bought out Primco, etc). I am lucky to say that I hardly every have any dropped calls and my reception is great! There are a ton of store locations too! The CEO is from Illinois so he is servicing his home area well!
I signed up for a new service about a year ago and got 1/2 off my monthly rate. I think you just need to keep checking the website to see what deals they are posting. I heard of the one I got on the radio.
I have a *lot* of friends who are very unhappy with there service providers in my area. We live in an older, established western suburb and there are a lot of trees that make reception difficult. My friend who complains the most has Sprint. She can only get reception out at the end of her driveway.
I'll keep my ears open for any ads...