Well, we finally went and got our Brazil visas, and are going next week!

Pretty easy to do, but the Chicago consulate was very particular(think Seinfeld Soup Nazi) You must have it all correct, or "no soup for you, come back!"
I flew in and dropped our passports off with all the paper work on a Tuesday and had them back on Friday the same week.
$160 and good 10 years.

Anybody needing info about getting a visa in Chicago, let me know and I will make sure you have it correct the first visit.