They are kind of sparse in my immediate area but I do hear them on occasion. One technique that might work for me under these conditions is called (Putting Your Turkey To Bed)
You would go out in the late evening and use an Owl hooter, or even slam the car door here and there to get a shock gobble out of the bird.
You can then arrive at that area in the dark the next morning placing yourself around 70yds upwind of the tree (the turkey will fly down into the wind) and wait for the legal shooting times to start your calling tricks.
This is some very tough hunting with absolute stillness required cause the bird will just peek its head instead of its entire body over any rise during its approach to you. If it detects any motion, glare, or poor camo, It will be gone before you even knew it was there. Another interesting aspect of the turkey hunting is that too many people over too many years have said that if you have the bird in range and in sight but out of the general line of the gun barrel, there is no way that you will be able to swing and shoot before it runs off.
I think that you would have some good hunting prospects in the IL river basin. I have an area just south west of Pekin IL in the basin that I now have access to. Am considering a Spring hunt there.
