Illinois

Forbes named the best employers in the U.S. Here are 54 from Illinois on the list

Published

1 year ago

February 16, 2025

Forbes named the best employers in the U.S. Here are 54 from Illinois on the list

The state of Illinois is home to more than 50 of the best employers in the United States, according to annual rankings released recently by Forbes.

Here is a look at how the list was made and which Illinois businesses made the cut.

How did Forbes make the list of best employers?

Forbes partnered with market research firm Statista to survey over 217,000 employees nationwide. Respondents rated employers based on salary, advancement opportunities, work environment and training programs.

After tallying and analyzing the data, Forbes gave each employer a score and placed a total of 1,199 organizations on either a Best Large Employers 2025 list or a Best Midsized Employer 2025 list. The Best Large Employers list consisted of 701 companies nationwide, and the Best Midsized Employers list named 498 businesses.

Which Illinois businesses made the rankings?

The financial magazine listed the best large and midsized employers in the United States. The results show that 31 Illinois-based businesses are among the top country’s top large employees, while 23 Illinois businesses earned national recognition as mid-sized employers.

The Peoria Journal Star has listed the top Illinois employers in each category. The lists include national rank, business, industry, employee count and headquarters location.

Forbes list: Illinois’ Best Large Employers

62. Hyatt Hotels | travel and leisure | 51,000 | Chicago
113. Caterpillar | manufacturing, engineering | 113,000 | Deerfield
139. Grainger | retail and wholesale | 22,100 | Lake Forest
159. Northwestern Medicine | healthcare and social services | 30,000 | Chicago
162. Levy | restaurants | 10,001 | Chicago
215. AbbVie | drugs and biotechnology | 50,000 | North Chicago
242. Health Care Service Corporation | insurance | 28,000 | Chicago
267. CDW | IT software and services | 11,700 | Vernon Hills
298. State Farm | insurance | 67,000 | Bloomington
328. Gallagher Bassett | insurance | 5,000 | Rolling Meadows
338. Ace Hardware | retail and wholesale | 5,583 | Oak Brook
339. Motorola Solutions | telecommunications services, cable supplier | 11,130 | Chicago
350. Discover Financial Services | banking and financial services | 21,100 | Riverwoods
363. United Airlines | transportation and logistics | 103,300 | Chicago
367. ALDI | retail and wholesale | 25,000 | Batavia
419. Abbott Laboratories | healthcare equipment and services | 35,340 | Chicago
484. Zurich North America | insurance | 9,000 | Schaumburg
521. CAN Financial | insurance | 6,300 | Chicago
535. Baker Tilly | professional services | 44,000 | Chicago
563. RSM US | professional services | 16,600 | Chicago
572. Exelon | utilities | 19,962 | Chicago
578. Crowe | professional services | 5,001 | Chicago
590. JLL | business services and supplies | 35,366 | Chicago
600. John Deere | engineering, manufacturing | 83,000 | Moline
601. Walsh Group | construction, chemicals, raw materials | 8,000 | Chicago
613. Dover | engineering, manufacturing | 25,000 | Downers Grove
628. US Foods | food, soft beverages, alcohol and tobacco | 30,000 | Rosemont
652. Medline Industries | healthcare equipment and services | 30,000 | Northfield
671. Great Wolf Resorts | travel and leisure | 10,000 | Chicago
691. Kraft Heinz Company | food, soft beverages, alcohol and tobacco | 36,000 | Chicago

Forbes List: Illinois’ Best Midsized Employers

7. Morningstar | business services and supplies | 3,400 | Chicago
10. Silver Cross Hospital | healthcare and social services | 3,800 | New Lenox
26. Alzheimer’s Association | healthcare and social services | 2,000 | Chicago
34. Harper College | education | 1,316 | Palatine
41. Southern Illinois Healthcare | healthcare and social services | 4,000 | Carbondale
74. Argonne National Laboratory | drugs and biotechnology | 3,400 | Lemont
90. Eversana | drugs and biotechnology | 6,000 | Chicago
106. Ronald McDonald House Charities | healthcare and social services | 5,000 | Chicago
120. Illinois Institute of Technology | education | 1,450 | Chicago
159. Kirkland and Ellis | professional services | 6,500 | Chicago
162. Echo Global Logistics | transportation and logistics | 2,600 | Chicago
165. Illinois Bone and Joint Institute | healthcare and social services | 1,100 | Des Plaines
222. Ed Napleton Automotive Group | automotive | 3,500 | Oakbrook Terrace
252. Wintrust | banking and financial services | 5,521 | Rosemont
298. Beltone | health care equipment and services | 1,093 | Chicago
304. Zebra Technologies | semiconductors, electronics, electrical engineering | 9,750 | Lincolnshire
318. AAR | aerospace and defense | 4,125 | Wood Dale
330. Hub Group | transportation and logistics | 5,950 | Oak Brook
390. Sargent and Lundy | professional services | 3,500 | Chicago
392. Fresh Thyme | retail and wholesale | 1,657 | Downers Grove
411. AIT Worldwide Logistics | transportation and logistics | 3,700 | Itasca
450. Alera Group | insurance | 3,500 | Deerfield
493. Hollister | healthcare equipment and services | 3,200 | Libertyville

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Illinois

Andretti family’s popular go karting and gaming facility opening first Illinois location. See inside

Published

2 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Andretti family’s popular go karting and gaming facility opening first Illinois location. See inside

A popular indoor go karting and gaming company is opening up its first Illinois location in a Chicago suburb this week.

Andretti Indoor Karting & Games announced it will open its doors on a brand new Schaumburg location at 4 p.m. on March 10, with a grand opening event slated for March 14.

The facility will feature numerous attractions, including “high-speed electric Superkarts on a multi-level track” and an arcade with professional racing simulators and two-story laser tag arena, in a 98,000-square-foot facility. There’s also bowling, a movie theater and more, the company said.

The Schaumburg location, at 1441 Thoreau Dr., will mark Andretti’s 13th facility in the U.S.

“We’re thrilled to open our thirteenth location in the thriving village of Schaumburg,” said Eddie Hamman, managing member. “Andretti is the perfect addition to all the amazing experiences across Chicagoland, and we look forward to meeting the communities that make this market a top destination.”

The company said it plans to host a “sneak preview” event beginning at 11 a.m. on March 10, where several guests will “be treated to free racing, attractions, and arcade play with food and beverage options available for purchase.” The Andretti family will also be on-hand for autograph sessions that afternoon.

A limited number of spots will be made available to RSVP to the preview.

Then on March 14, the first 100 guests to visit the facility to be given one hour of free arcade play and entered to win a raffle for a free birthday party. Ten guests could also win free arcade play for a year.

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Illinois

New building owner addresses backlash over mural in downtown Springfield

Published

14 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

New building owner addresses backlash over mural in downtown Springfield

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3) – A long-standing mural honoring Robert E. Smith on the side of a building at Campbell and Walnut has been covered up, prompting community backlash against the building’s new owner.

David Pere, owner of FMTM LLC, purchased the building in downtown Springfield and said he intended it to reflect his business, which focuses on helping veterans with financial strategies and goals. Covering the mural was part of that plan.

Pere said he was out of town in Tennessee when painting began and learned about the community reaction through messages on his phone.

“I’m like, I was in Tennessee running an event. I didn’t even know he’d started painting until I got a bunch of really nasty messages on my phone,” Pere said. “And I go, oh, look, that’s our building getting painted. I guess he started.”

Pere said he did not anticipate the response. “You know, we didn’t. I didn’t know how much of an impact this was going to make,” he said.

Jesse Tyler, co-owner of SGFCO, said he wanted the mural to stay and expressed concern about the lack of safeguards for publicly recognized works of art.

“To paint over that is to say, like, could be interpreted as saying that his work is no longer relevant or that his story is no longer relevant. I don’t think that’s true,” Tyler said. “Robert’s artwork needs to be part of downtown for as long as we can maintain that memory and maintain that legacy.”

Tyler said the community had hoped protections would be in place for the mural. “Maybe we didn’t have those protections that we hope there would be, that maybe the sort of legacy and awareness of Robert’s work that we hope there would be wasn’t there,” he said.

The City of Springfield posted online, acknowledging the artwork held deep meaning for many residents. Because the building is privately owned, however, Pere is within his rights to make changes to its exterior.

Pere said he hopes to help relocate the mural to a more permanent location. “We want to help migrate that mural to a wall where it could be more permanent,” he said. “I’d love to help them find a space for it. I’d love to help. I’d love to see the city get involved to the point where that space could be a permanent space where it’s actually maintained because it is obvious now that it is very important to the city of Springfield.”

Pere is already working with an artist on a new mural for the side of the building, intended to represent veterans. That mural is expected to begin going up at the end of the month.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

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Illinois

Missed the lunar eclipse? See when the next one will be over Illinois

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Missed the lunar eclipse? See when the next one will be over Illinois

Millions across the United States who woke up early Tuesday were treated to a “blood moon,” the only total lunar eclipse occurring in North America in 2026, according to NASA.

Illinois residents who missed it will be waiting some time for the next total lunar eclipse to shine above the U.S. — several years, in fact. But a partial lunar eclipse is coming sooner.

When is the next total lunar eclipse in Illinois?

After March 3, Illinois’ next visible total lunar eclipse won’t happen again until June 2029, writes Time and Date. There is a partial lunar eclipse coming sooner, however.

Others are reading: Free Full Moon Queso at Qdoba. How to get in Illinois

When is the next lunar eclipse?

A partial lunar eclipse will be visible in Illinois on Aug. 27-28, shining over the Americas, Europe, Africa and parts of Asia, according to NASA.

Provided you’re willing to stay up late to see it, the partial lunar eclipse will be at its maximum around 11:12 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 27, in Illinois.

Until then, here’s what people in parts of the U.S. were seeing Tuesday morning.

See photos of the March 3 total lunar eclipse

Calendar of upcoming eclipses

When is the next solar eclipse?

The next solar eclipse will be visible to roughly 980 million people on Aug. 12, 2026, writes Time and Date.

A total solar eclipse will occur over Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Russia and a small area of Portugal, while a partial eclipse will be visible in Europe, Africa, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean, NASA reports.