Good Companies out of school

I'm gonna see if I cant pick your brains here. I live in central Illinois and I'm really thinking about going to school near St. Louis at MTC driving school. Most everything I see on here regarding the big carriers is negative. I would like to eventually work locally but I understand that I have to do the OTR thing for a while before thats a possibility. My wifes uncle makes midwest runs that he seems to like a lot but he's on the road for a while right now and I cant get ahold of him. Do any of you know of a respectable company that I could sign with out of school (it will be for either 12 or 14 months to help pay for school) that will offer good miles, decent hometime and good equipment for a newb looking to get some experience?
The recruiter I talked with at the school says that I'll get pre-hires before I even start school, and that they work with about 60 carriers, which sounds good, but I want to make sure I go with the right company.
Any advice would be great since I really dont know a whole lot about this game yet!