The Daily Herald Business Ledger has announced the names of 69 companies in 3 categories of competition that are being honored as the 2021 Best Places to Work in Illinois, and Network IT Easy (NIE) made the list second time in a row. And to make it even more exciting, we moved up to #10 this year.

This statewide survey and awards program was designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Illinois, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. The 2021 Best Places to Work in Illinois list comprises 35 companies in the small employer size, 22 companies in the medium-sized list and 12 companies in the large-category.

The awards program began in 2006 and is promoted by The Daily Herald Business Ledger in partnership with the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, MRA-The Management Association, the Small Business Advocacy Council and Best Companies Group.

Companies from across the state entered the two-part process to determine the Best Places to Work in Illinois. The first part consisted of evaluating each nominated company’s workplace policies, practices, and demographics. The second part consisted of an employee survey to measure the employee experience.

The 69 companies were recognized and honored virtually at the Best Places to Work in Illinois Virtual Recognition Webcast coordinated by the Daily Herald Business Ledger and sponsored by HR Source on May 13. The 2021 Best Places to Work in Illinois were also profiled in a special publication by the Business Ledger in June.