Hey Bro!

Just ask a cab driver. They know everything. But virtually EVERYONE will make you prove that you are not a cop first. Can't be too careful in the current legal environment (join, support, contribute to NORML).

Another idea is to ask a hotel concierge. They do this kind of thing routinely. Prove that you are not a cop and tip them handsomely.

You can grow your own, but THAT will be almost impossible with 4 children in the house. Be a good dad FIRST. Pot is the leading cash crop in the U.S. and it will be easier for you to buy it than to grow it.

Try a hydroponics shop. DON'T bother the shop clerk and/or owner (bad pot etiquette), but if you "shop" there you might just meet someone who grows the best weed in the universe.

Lastly, I have been to Rockford, Il (check out the annual Labor Day Festival on the Rock River!), and I find it to be a very pleasant community. I think that your description of it as "ghetto" was too harsh. After all, the guy with gold teeth DID try his best to help you out (hell, he probrably has a PhD in economics).

Some guys are only in for the money, and other guys are in it much deeper reasons (moral principal, art, sex, spirituality, recreation, and on and on...).

I know it's really hard being a full time Dad with a full time job AND moving to a new area where you lose all your friends and hookups and such (been there done that). BUT, you have a LOT of friends out there, near Chicago, trust me. But BE CAREFUL (father of 4), and just keep trying. You WILL hook up!