Someone who has grown up less than an hour from San Francisco, even one who likes to snowboard, is likely to be shocked by the bitter, windy Midwestern winters. My vote would be for anything in California.
If you do decide on UIUC or UMN, make certain that your budget will cover the heavy-duty winter wear that you will need. Of those two, I’d recommend UMN. Getting there and back would be much easier than travel to UIUC because there is a major airport in St Paul.