To find the distance from Chicago to Los Angeles, we can look at the table you provided. The distance from Chicago to Los Angeles is given as \(2.79980 \times 10^3\) miles, which simplifies to \(2799.80\) miles.
Since Jack and his friends want to stop halfway on their road trip, we need to calculate half of this distance:
\[ \text{Half Distance} = \frac{2799.80}{2} = 1399.90 \text{ miles.} \]
Therefore, Jack and his friends will need to drive approximately 1399.90 miles before they reach the halfway point on their trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.