Absolutely right, Bcsco. I live just south of Chicago, and have to commute to Rockford occasionally for work. It's about a two hour drive west, kinda close to the Quad Cities area, and about 10 - 15 miles south of the Wisconsin border. I don't think it's too much of a point, though. Well, maybe, if you consider that the media can't get even the simplest of facts straight. But this story obviously will get global attention to some extent, and for someone overseas to hear a terrorist tried to take out Rockford has nowhere near the impact to a European, or even some Americans for that matter, than a suburb of Chicago. It's the press, remember? Any chance they get to add some extra "oomph" to a story they will take. As for why he chose Rockford....well, it is pretty darn populated, not like it was, but there are some very large corporations that have manufacturing plants and headquarters based in the area, Chrysler Automotive and Caterpillar probably being among the largest. I don't know for sure obviously, just throwing out whatever reason I can think of. Maybe he wanted to show they are gunning for us in every town, not just main cities....oh, finally, and quite possibly the most likely reason, Rockford is probably 1,000 times easier to pull something like that off and possibly get away with than Chicago.
I believe the perp is from Rockford. This occurred in Rockford because that's his home - his backyard. It's the Federal Attorney's office that's based in Chicago, thus that's where he was taken for arraignment. The FBI, however, does have an office in Rockford.
If you're South of Chicago, Rockford is possibly as far from the Quad Cities as you are from Rockford. The city is North-central Illinois; not North-western Illinois along the Mississippi River. I'm 80 miles straight West of Chicago at the junction of I-88 and I-39. To get to Rockford I go 30 miles straight North on I-39. To get to the Quad Cities I go 90 miles West-Southwest on I-88. It's on the Mississippi River. We have in-laws there. Thus, I'm directly South of Rockford a short distance, yet only about midway between Chicago and the Quad Cities.