Any interest in a regional beta reading group?

Hey all -

At the risk of sounding a little creepy, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in doing a beta read exchange regionally? I can imagine the thought of meeting some from an online forum in real time can be intimidating. However, I can see some benefits from it.

I think having a personal connection can be more assuring with sharing the work. I at least find it scary to share a whole manuscript online without knowing exactly who's reading it; for all I know there could be some plagarist (if that's a word) stealing my work. Having an in-person review can help with accountability.

Also, I think discussing the work in person can help reduce the negativity that could be misinterpreted over digital media. Yes, we're called to have a thick skin to criticism, but actually having a personal conversation might help soften some of the harder things to otherwise read online.

What do you guys think? In particular, if anyone lives in the Chicagoland area, I'd be very interested in setting something up...

Thanks,
Elvin