Simply Amish Furniture, based in Arcola, IL, has been making quality, top-of-the-line wood furniture since 1979. In a time when people in the city had to travel to the country to get good quality furniture, a group of family members joined forces with a vision to bring Amish furniture to the city.

The family-owned business started when co-founder, Kevin Kauffman, learned the trade from his father. Soon after, Kauffman expanded his vision when he joined forces with his brothers and uncles. Now Simply Amish Furniture has a nationwide distribution system.

The company has multiple collections of handmade custom furniture, each item built to order and distinctively made for the customer. Their custom furniture ranges from beds to desks, and from tables to storage pieces – all built in the Amish tradition.

For more information: http://www.simplyamish.com/

If you want to get the most out of your paycheck (and avoid any mishaps on the job), Illinois is one of the best states in the country to do so, according to a new study by MoneyRates.com.

Illinois ranked No. 5 in the nation based on factors like average wage, state tax rates, cost of living and occurrences of workplace injuries and fatalities. MoneyRates noted Illinois has relatively high wages while enjoying a relatively low tax rate and cost of living.

As state economies reap some of the benefits of lower energy costs, the Illinois economy grew more than its neighboring states and remains the top performer in the region, according to new 2014 data released by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis.

If you’ve ever driven across Illinois, you know that the state is packed with farms. Though much of Illinois’ land is covered in corn and soybeans, it also produces an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables – primarily sold at farmers’ markets, and there may be one close to you.

Illinois has the third largest concentration of farmers’ markets in the United States. As an agricultural powerhouse, our state provides many opportunities for those in large- and small-scale agriculture to sell their goods and help provide consumers with the choices they demand.

Creating new road signs in Illinois means making sure to reuse old ones as part of an ongoing sustainability program.

The Illinois Department of Transportation’s Highway Sign Shop in Springfield recycles 45,000 to 50,000 highway signs each year, conserving about 427,500 pounds of aluminum annually. The process has saved the state about $600,000 a year since 2001.