I am in Maryland and think very highly of the UIUC. (Take a peak at the sky high middle 50% SAT scores for recently admitted classes).
With regard to the discussion on tiers for large public universities, I would put the University of Maryland in the tier just below the top tier (Mich, Cal, UCLA, UVA). UMD is the 21st ranked public university, and has numerous programs ranked in the top 20 (and top 10), including several of its engineering and science programs. It also has a very successful alumni base.