Shaz,
with all due respect, there's no way of knowing if a program has good didactics until you are in it. Furthermore, lectures are a small component of learning... the best learning will come in the OR with your attendings. They may help you get a couple extra points on the ITE, but at the end of the day, your own time you put into reading will get you past the boards. Spoon-fed lectures can only go so far, and i see that now as an intern. I've learned the most on busy call nights in the Units (both CCU and MICU). 5 sick-as-**** admissions in 5 hours, peeps intubated, on pressors, IABP's, impella's, PVAD's, etc will test your endurance, intellect and sanity.
So to get back to the thread, it's impossible for you (or anyone else) to definitively say UofC is definitively better than NW or vice versa. However, the plain facts are that NW has superior CT, OB and pediatric experience, better facilities and a better location in the city. Don't rely on reputation and rumors about programs because they count for D*ick. Look at the numbers: board pass rate (most important, arguably), volume in each subspecialty, fellowship placement, elective time in CA-3 year, opportunities for rotations abroad. If programs don't tell you how many cases their residents log in each subspecialty, they are hiding a weakness. Transparency on the interview day is paramount, and after you've done a few, it becomes easy to identify.
I know it's difficult as an MS4 to see past work hours, but trust me, you'll work hard at any big name program, even in a relatively cushy schedule like they got at BIDMC