The problem is not the schools in the Midwest but that many don’t want to live in the Midwest. I am married into a family from Illinois but they have all left or are leaving because they are tired of the weather. I also went to grad school in Illinois and never considered staying after I finished. I did actually like it but wasn’t a place I wanted to stay forever.

University of Illinois at Urbana Champagne was the pre-eminent school for Computer Science. It’s still a fantastic school but most don’t seem to want to live in a cornfield.