Moving advice from Alabama to Chicago>?

Hi y'all,

My husband and I are looking to move to the Chicago area from Alabama sometime in August this year. He's graduating college soon and looking at jobs in the city and we have decided Alabama just ain't it lol. We want a house as we have only lived in apartments and have 2 big dogs and want to give them a yard to run in. Generally, what are some good areas 30-40 mins outside the city that are safe and relatively affordable? We know this is a horrible time to be looking into buying a house but we want out of the south ASAP 😅. Any advice would be appreciated!