For what it worth I will chime in with what most already know;
(1) I have seen several area kids go out to the West Coast, a few have done well, a few have come home early. It is a long flight out to the West Coast and not an inexpensive flight. In other words the parents may only be able to go to games sporadically, and the kid may only be able to come home 2 or 3 times a year.
(2) If you don't want to go local the ACC or B1G is the way to go. You can get to most ACC colleges in less than 2.5 hours via Southwest out of Midway. B1G, for the most part, is a car ride.
(3) Local, I don't have to go into why Northwestern or ND are attractive, those programs sell themselves.