sources to get wood from

hardwood stores in the Chicago-land area

Sells mainly lumber:

Owl Hardwood — three suburban locations
- The Lombard location is very near T's special store.
TODO: visit this when I visit the Rebuilding Exchange — McCathay Timber — near Ashland and I-90, they have six locations across the US and Canada — veneer, nice plywood, butcher blocks, and a few exotic hardwoods
TODO: visit — Meyers Woodworking & Lumber — western suburbs, regional hardwoods — they claim to have a long list of hardwood species
TODO: visit — Hardwoods, Inc. — 32 locations across North America, located on the south side — TFM veneers, plywood, lumber, and fancy edge-banding
Horigan Urban Forest Products — almost to Waukegan, "over 30,000 board feet of kiln dried, local, reclaimed, urban lumber", the PS:One wiki says they have hardwoods
All American Reclaim — reclaimed hardwood, way out in Crystal Lake
Great Spirit Hardwoods — hardwood, live edge slabs, and custom table tops, way out in East Dundee
Schroeder Hardwoods — way south — live-edge slabs and hardwood
? The Russel Mill ? — in Zion, the PS:One wiki claims they sell salvage and reclaimed lumber, and their website claims they sell hardwood — TODO: check this place out
(see more at PS:One's wiki)

Sells both tools and lumber:

A used furniture + lumber resale place (furniture could be used to harvest lumber from):

TODO: visit — Rebuilding Exchange — near Fullerton and Ashland and I-90 — all kinds of reclaimed furniture, fixtures, and lumber — TODO: check it out, do they have much hardwood, even if it has to be harvested from already-built furniture?
TODO: visit — Habitat for Humanity ReStores — several in the Chicagoland region

Menards generally has cheap lumber, but they do have a few grades above construction lumber, even in pine:

(each link below is for the 8' version of a board)

size	Standard grade	Quality grade	Select grade
pine 2x2	Furring Strip	n/a	Select
pine 2x4	Construction/Framing	n/a	n/a
pine 1x2	n/a	Quality	Select
pine 1x3	Furring	Quality	Select
pine 1x4	Standard	Quality	Select
pine 1x6	Standard	Quality	Select
pine 1x8	Standard	Quality	Select

And then different species of hardwood, to compare prices. These should be 1 x 4s, 4 ft long, unless stated otherwise: (all in one page)

Strength is indicated by — ▖ ▚ ▟ ▉