I have a couple of throughts on this. First of all, one thing you said that raises my antennas is when you tried to rent an aircraft but the flight school said no due to insurance rules. I can't be certain, but I think this is a load of BS. If the flight school is renting a plane, then you should be able to use it for any purpose that you would like. It makes no sense to me. I suspect that the reason they are doing this is because they want students to get instructors from them, not for the students to bring their own instructors. So they use insurance as an excuse, which is stupid because in the end they are the losers, since they are not renting out the plane and making money.

Second, as far as the part 61 curriculum, I don't think you should worry about it. As far as the curriculum for private pilot is concerned, part 61 and 141 are basically the same. The only difference is that 61 required 40 hours rather than the 35 for ppl, in which case it doesn't matter anyways since the national average for ppl is around 65- 70 hours. I think you are assuming that just becuase an instructor is teaching under 141 that the instruction is better. This is not the case at all. The only difference is the paperwork required inder 141. As far as teaching goes, it all falls on the skill of the instructor. In fact, I have known some 61 schools to be BETTER than 141 just out of the fact that the instructors were better.

The effectiveness of flight instruction is not determined by whether it is taught under FAR part 61 or 141. It is determined by the effectivness and dedication of an instructor towards his/her students.

What part of the Chicago suburbs are you based out of. The southwest burbs? Let me know, and if its parts I am familiar with then i can make you some recommendations as to different flight schools in the area.