1) There are a few shoddy Russian gunmakers and what not that I'd avoid but I can't think of their names offhand. Stick with Remington, Mossbery, Benelli, Browning. You can't go wrong. I have a Remington 870 Express 12ga (it's a pump) around here somewhere, it's well made, shoots well, and should last a very long time.
2) I'm not sure what exactly you mean by storage, but, I prefer, a locked, hard case with a trigger lock on the gun. Hard cases are nice because you have less of a chance of buggering something up if you drop it or it falls over. A nice soft case will do the trick, too, if you don't anticipate having the gun in a heavily trafficed area. Keep ammo somewhere low in humidity.
3) Probably not, other than having to get a FOID card. I'm sure you came across that already, though. Other than that? Probably just barrel size limits and things of that nature.
4) I've never been to Bloomington, so I can't say for the ranges there, but the range I used to frequent in my neck of the woods (about an hour North of Chicago) allowed both rifles and shotguns, as well as blackpowder and pistols. I saw a bunch of guys sighting in their turkey guns all the time. Wouldn't hurt to call local ranges though.
5) Yup. Everything you do, now, will affect the gun owning community as a whole. If you kill somebody, it's just another piece in the Anti-Gun Lobby's case, etc etc. "Local gun-owner..blah blah blah". I'm sure that's obvious but, ya know.
And...TAKE CARE OF YOUR GUNS! I know so many people who have guns and never clean them or take care of them, and they are turning to hell. If you handle your gun, wipe it down with a special rag for cleaning oils off gunmetals and wood. If you shoot it, clean it as soon after as you can (don't overclean, either), don't let it sit for a few weeks. Make take a firearms class or something if they have them locally. There are many fine points to shooting that a lot of shooters don't know.
I'm rambling here, so I'll stop. Do some research, shoot some guns, and then figure out what fits you best. And then tell us what you got, so we can let you into the circle and tell you what WE got
