On National Coffee Day, we’d like to shine a spotlight on Chicago-based coffee roaster Intelligentsia. Intelligentsia pioneered the Direct Trade purchasing model in which they source directly from coffee roasters and incentivize high-quality cups.

Doug Zell and Emily Manage first opened Intelligentsia Coffee’s doors on Broadway Avenue on Chicago’s North Side in October of 1995. Since then they have expanded from coast to coast, opening shops in LA and New York City.

They have earned several awards for their work and in 2016 were recognized on Thrillist’s list of best coffee roasters in the country.
Intelligentsia works with farmers and coffee producers in 20 countries to develop high quality beans.

Illinois is home to 33 Fortune 500 companies - the fourth most in the nation. These companies include famous names like McDonald's, Walgreens and Kraft.

The cost of insurance to cover worker injuries has gone down nearly 20 percent over the past three years, saving Illinois employers nearly $460 million.

The National Council on Compensation recommended lowering workers’ compensation insurance premiums by 5.5 percent in 2015, which means Illinois’ workers’ comp rates have fallen by nearly 20 percent over three years.

Illinois seems to get a bad reputation for its tax burden on businesses. However, a recent report from the Anderson Economic Group LLC found that Illinois was ranked 27th for its tax burden on businesses. The tax burden is based on income taxes, property taxes, sales taxes, unemployment compensation charges, license fees and other costs.