New self-guided tours to highlight Frank Lloyd Wright’s work in Illinois

• Frank Lloyd Wright Trail

The Illinois Office of Tourism kicked off National Travel and Tourism Week by unveiling a new Frank Lloyd Wright Trail to celebrate the famed architect’s history and connection to the state.

Wright was known for his uniquely American style of architecture, including several well-known buildings in Illinois. His creative period spanned over 70 years and produced designs for homes, offices, churches, schools, hotels, museums and other structures.

Two new road trip itineraries will feature buildings designed by Wright, who spent the first two decades of his career based in Chicago and Oak Park. This self-guided architectural adventure will feature 13 Wright-designed buildings open to the public throughout Illinois.

One trail goes from Chicago to Springfield, with stops in Kankakee and Dwight, allowing visitors to discover the shining examples of Wright’s signature Prairie style.

Another trail takes travelers from Chicago to Rockford, with stops in Geneva, Hampshire and Belvedere, following Wright’s career from his earliest designs to his biggest innovations.

Both itineraries – which can be downloaded from EnjoyIllinois.com – also suggest other activities along the way, such as Chicago’s architecture cruise, the Oak Park walking tour of Wright-designed homes, and various eateries and tourist attractions.

The creation of the Frank Lloyd Wright Trail was approved by the General Assembly last month. This summer, official Frank Lloyd Wright Trail road signs will be displayed across Illinois.

Did you know? Frederic W. Goudy was an American printer and typographer from Bloomington who designed more than 100 typefaces.

Frederic W. Goudy (1865-1947) was an American printer and typographer from Bloomington who designed more than 100 typefaces.

Goudy was a bookkeeper and a self-taught printer and typographer. He designed numerous fonts inspired by blackletter medieval manuscripts, illuminated manuscripts, and Roman square capitals carved into stone. His taste matched the trends of the time period, and his mechanical, geometric fonts proved to have long-lasting appeal, becoming especially popular for use in the body text of books.

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Illinois ranks 5th in net tech jobs

Illinois ranks fifth in the nation in net tech employment according to a new report from CompTIA CompTIA, one of the world’s leading technology industry associations.

Tech employment in Illinois grew by an estimated 4,040 jobs in 2017, contributing an estimated $48.7 billion to the state’s economy, according to the company’s Cyberstates Report

The added workers put Illinois’ tech industry total at 437,200 or 6.8 percent of the state’s total workforce. The average tech industry wage in Illinois is $100,580, compared to the state's average private sector annual wage of $57,360.

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37 Illinois hospitals named safest in the country

Illinois hospitals have made great strides this year, making the state home to 37 of the safest hospitals in the country, according to a new report.

Every two years, the Leapfrog Group releases a list of the safest hospitals in the country after analyzing over 2,500 different hospitals across the nation.

Leapfrog analyzes these hospitals according to 27 criteria, including the number of infections in patients, problems arising from surgeries, the use of practices like computerized medication ordering, the strength of hospital leadership and more. The Leapfrog Group then assigns each hospital a safety rating in the form of a letter grade.

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