We live in the western suburbs of Chicago. The front of our house is mostly in shade with direct sun for a couple of hours a day (we have two trees that block the sun until the mid afternoon). We are considering converting our front lawn to a native state. We really don't have much gardening experience and have no idea where to start. Can anyone point me toward resources that could walk me through the process as well as the pros and cons of having native plants for a yard? After digging around on the internet for awhile I thought this might be the best place to ask for advice. I'm a newb so easy to understand resources are appreciated.