If J. Little were just putting something on the web, I’d advise him/her to use Google Maps, but s/he’s looking for something s/he can publish: “If I wanted to make a map of the area surrounding Lake Michigan and add all the soccer fields as points of interest and then publish that map, what software could I use without (1) it costing me $500 and (2) the corporate attorneys banging on my bedroom window before dawn the following morning?”

Presumably something is needed here that is a bit more accessible — and affordable — than Adobe Illustrator with the cartographic plugins. I’m not sure anything falls into that category — especially once publishing gets involved. I could be wrong, though; any suggestions? (If nothing is available, say so.)