Well I did not grow up in Chicago, but out in Wheaton, a couple of houses down from the Belushi family (John and Jim were complete assholes) on Elm St. We moved to Jefferson City MO for my high school years but I returned to Chicago for college, spending 4 years there at the University of Chicago. I have been a Cub's fan for over 50 years, but aside from that I did well while in the area.
I have already worked up the opal rough, was not a lot of Color but mostly potch, with one beatiful exception- a hundred Ct. Australian white with a rainbow pattern. Of course, I am not going to risk ruining the stone but am trying to find someone with expertise to cut and polish it or just buy it outright. Russ Madsen of that association that was not mentioned is helping me with the problem. IMO, black opal is much over- rated too muchwork for tiny bits of color, Mexican fire opal is absolutely beautiful but really hard to work with. So far I have done the best with crystal and dark opals but I don't know if that pattern will hold.
Nice to hear from you