First, full disclosure: I have a bunch of downloadable LLC do-it-yourself kits we sell... very fairly, you can assume I lack some objectivity here.
But some thoughts and comments:
1. To get this out on there, you can probably form an LLC yourself. Steps you follow are here:
https://evergreensmallbusiness.com/all-states-real-estate-investor-llc-formation-kit/forming-an-illinois-limited-liability-company/ and, yes, there's also a downloadable kit "sold" on that page. But the steps and links you use are there and those may be all you need.
2. People say the LLC or corporate veils are easy to pierce. I'm told that's not the case by attorneys who practice in this area. One attorney, e.g., explained situation to me this way... You want to think about LLCs and corporations as "products" or "insurance policies" your state sells. The state incurs essentially no cost to create or maintain other than shuffling a few sheets of paper and an annual letter. Yet state dings you a few hundred bucks to set up and then dings you again every year often another hundred bucks or so. Accordingly, the state has no reason to allow some court to damage the value of about the sweetest protection racket you can imagine.
3. The worst case scenario an LLC protects you against according to a bankruptcy attorney in town we know is the "slip and fall" accident. I.e., you'd lose your property in a worst case scenario... but that's all.
4. Same attorney, BTW, says a liability policy should work almost as well.
5. You would put each property into its own LLC.
P.S. In some states, like California, LLCs are so expensive you need to really assess whether the protection they provide is worth it.
