I have been an LPN for 8 months. I start my RN transition program at IVY Tech this June and will finish in May of 2009. I currently hold an Indiana License and work at a nursing home/rehab center in NW Indiana.

When I finish, I would like to find a job at a hospital in chicago. How easy is it to apply for an Illinois license? Did anyone have any problems? How long did it take? Would applying for an Illinois license while an LPN make it easier or faster to obtain a license when an RN?

Its not going to matter whether you apply while you're an LPN or not. I HIGHLY recommend applying to take the IL boards. They are notoriously slow at endorsing licenses. The only reason mine only took a week is b/c my recruiter knew someone down there and got in contact w/them and pulled some strings. Otherwise it would have probably been a nightmare, seeing as how my app. sat for a week. I had a friend who applied and it took over a month before hers was processed. Had I known what a headache it was I would've paid an extra $200 to take the IL boards (I had already sent everything into IN when I got my job offer). Plus IL requires so much more for their application as you must get fingerprints done and if you are being endorsed you must pay a fee for them to look you up on the NURSYS database. I cannot stress enough how much easier it would be to just take the IL state boards. Good luck in nursing school :)