Crios - Chicago Botanic Garden has a native plants garden. Perhaps a stroll through some of the appropriate areas would give you some preliminary ideas. Although I haven't been in years, there should be some plant identification markers so that you could jot down the names of some of the plants you like and then do some research. Depending on how far you want to go native will determine what, if any, maintenance you would need to do. Seems from your description that you would be looking into plants that thrive at the edge of a woodland or open field.