I've been working in the IT industry for around 10 years. 5 of those years have been as my own small business consulting firm.  About a year ago I decided to increase my understanding of security and security tools.  Last fall I completed SANS 401GSEC.

My issue is, I have this information I've learned, but no real world to apply and enhance the skills. I can work on some stuff on my home network and in a test environment at one of my client's, but I really feel like I need some real world in the wild experience to properly nurture these skills. Furthermore, as the sole employee of my consulting firm I do not get the opportunity to learn from others around me.

Does anyone have a recomendation for a place I can intern or volunteer at for a few hours a week to enhance my Pen Testing skills and other security techniques, helping out and learning from folks who do this stuff every day? I live and work in Chicago so I would prefer that this happened in the city, but if the opportunity was right I would consider traveling to a near suburb.

Any help with this is greatly appreciated.