I am surprised that you don't get home regularly to Chicago. I don't know of any expedite company which would make a point of trying to get you home. When I was in expediting I found that if you start home you often get paged enroute with a load offer. I am based in Detroit.
However, if you were content to sit in Newark, NJ, Philly, Omaha, NE, Laredo, TX, etc dispatch is happy to have your unit available and won't move you.
Being in Chicago, one good thing is that if you deadhead home you will get back out fairly quickly.