First you will want to think about getting your own fresh leads @John Anderson which will take time, but it's more effective.

Any insight on what is needed to effectively work this market I would greatly appreciate.

A million dollar property needs to bring in at least $10k/mo of effective gross income, especially with management and the can't drive by and look at it factor.  

How does this effect a property under an LLC?

Many RE agents like to add them on to sales because they are cheap and effectively deceptive

(hope this isn't considered advertising)The 7 characteristics of highly effective people - Steve CoveyEat that frog - Brian Tracy 

Go to annualcreditreport.com, it is the site created by the three credit reporting companies.Obtaining a credit report for yourself does not negatively effect your credit score.

I am interested to hear from you experienced Chicagoland wholesalers some of the hottest areas for wholesaling, those not yet saturated if any, and your most effective marketing strategies in this market? 

A business structure might have stopped entirely or lessened the effect of that lawsuit. 

The consensus is that absentee w/ equity mailers (regardless of how good the mailer) is a waste of resources and wondering if there is a more effective strategy to using Direct mail in SoCal. ( ie probates, pre foreclosure, owner occ, etc) I'm not trying to sound like a "Debbie downer" but wanted some advice as to what direction would make more sense while being more efficient.