Well Chitown, I would send that trace to your ISP ASAP. The routing problem is in their network, long before it gets to AT&T. I mean, the the first 11 hops are all in Chicago.
And you are not going to New Jersy, California and so on. The addresses in that trace are wrong. Take a look at the actual IP address name. It has the city in it.
EDIT: Here, allow me to dissect that trace for you.
==========
| 0 | | 192.168.1.10 | rosebud.mjk.loc | ... | | | | (private use) |
| 1 | | 192.168.1.1 | - | ... | | 0 | x | (private use) |
| 2 | | 69.220.0.0 | adsl-69-220-184-134.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net | Chicago, IL, USA | -06:00 | 0 | x | SBC06922018412829040925012641 |
| 3 | | 69.220.0.0 | adsl-69-220-187-254.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net | Chicago, IL, USA | -06:00 | 10 | x | SBC Internet Services SBCIS-SIS80 |
| 4 | | 67.38.101.2 | dist1-vlan50.chcgil.ameritech.net | Chicago, IL, USA | -06:00 | 10 | x | SBC Internet Services SBCIS-SIS80 |
| 5 | | 151.164.242.208 | bb2-g7-0.chcgil.ameritech.net.242.164.151.in-addr.arpa | ?Plano, TX, USA | | 21 | -x--- | SBC Internet Services SBCIS-SIS80 |
| 6 | | 151.164.191.178 | bb2-p5-0.chcgil.ameritech.net | Chicago, IL, USA | -06:00 | 11 | x- | SBC Internet Services SBCIS-SIS80 |
| 7 | | 151.164.42.147 | ex1-p0-0.eqchil.sbcglobal.net | ?Plano, TX, USA | | 11 | x- | SBC Internet Services SBCIS-SIS80 |
| 8 | | 151.164.40.126 | ex2-p11-0.eqchil.sbcglobal.net | ?Plano, TX, USA | | 37 | -x-------- | SBC Internet Services SBCIS-SIS80 |
| 9 | | 144.223.241.57 | sl-st20-chi-0-0.sprintlink.net | Chicago, IL, USA | -06:00 | 11 | x | Sprint/United Information Service SPRINT-INNET |
| 10 | | 192.205.32.149 | sprint-gw.cgcil.ip.att.net | Chicago, IL, USA | -06:00 | 34 | x | AT&T Bell Laboratories NETBLK-ATT |
| 11 | | 12.122.81.62 | tbr2-p033301.cgcil.ip.att.net | Chicago, IL, USA | -06:00 | 36 | x | AT&T Worldnet Services ATTSVI-12-122-0-0 |
The above is all in Chicago (1-11)
| 12 | | 12.122.10.46 | tbr2-cl7.sl9mo.ip.att.net | St. Louis, MO, USA | -06:00 | 35 | x | AT&T Worldnet Services ATTSVI-12-122-0-0 |
| 13 | | 12.122.9.141 | - | ?Middletown, NJ, USA | -05:00 | 35 | x | AT&T Worldnet Services ATTSVI-12-122-0-0 |
The above is in St. Louis (12-13)
| 14 | | 12.122.10.90 | tbr2-cl6.dlstx.ip.att.net | Dallas, TX, USA | | 35 | x | AT&T Worldnet Services ATTSVI-12-122-0-0 |
| 15 | | 12.122.12.78 | gbr1-p70.dlstx.ip.att.net | Dallas, TX, USA | | 72 | --x--- | AT&T Worldnet Services ATTSVI-12-122-0-0 |
| 16 | | 12.123.16.233 | gar1-p360.dlstx.ip.att.net | Dallas, TX, USA | | 33 | x | AT&T Worldnet Services ATTSVI-12-122-0-0 |
| 17 | | 12.122.255.170 | mdf1-gsr12-2-pos-7-0.dal1.attens.net | ?Middletown, NJ, USA | -05:00 | 34 | x | AT&T Worldnet Services ATTSVI-12-122-0-0 |
| 18 | | 63.241.192.230 | mdf1-bi8k-1-eth-2-3.dal1.attens.net | ?San Diego, CA | | 54 | x | CERFnet CERFNET-BLK-5 |
| 19 | | 206.16.60.39 | - | ?Grapevine, TX, USA | | 53 | x | Hi Tech Creations ATTENS-010117-004688 |
The above (14-19) is in Dallas
Just due to the physical re-location, pings will change for most people. Some will be higher, others lower. Consistency is what it really is all about. Don't just use pings as a guide. It is but a small part of the overall connection puzzle for our service.
And again, at any given minute of the day, there are problems on the Internet, and eventually it will effect you.