I say the show should be moved from Chicago to Florida. There are tons of great resorts near major cities. Back in the late 90's we had the Fuente Cigar Celebration at Sand Dollar resort on Clear Water beach and then at the Don Cesar on ST Pete beach. Smoking in the pool and poolside was pretty cool.
I think Florida is much more suited to events like this and the Chicago organizers should consider this idea.
Harris, I understand your point. I spend a lot of time in FL myself and agree it has the potential to host a show.
But at the end of the day the Chicago show exists because of the Chicago club. It really only comes together because of all the hard work club members. and in many cases spouses, put in every year. Much of that would become difficult or impossible if the show left Chicagoland. Club members will have to speak for themselves, but my strong impression is that a show that's not more or less local will be somebody else's show, not theirs.
I know this is obvious, but the amount of work, unpaid, onerous, and put in over many weekends and evenings, to mount a show of this size is enormous. Every pipe show on the calendar is a minor miracle, and we're all lucky that someone is willing to expend the effort.