LEADING LOCATION

Go ahead and complain about having nothing to do while you’re in Springfi eld, Chicagoans. We’ll just smile and nod as we think of you sitting in traffi c for an hour. That’s because we like it here, and apparently, some other folks think Springfi eld is a pretty decent place, too. The planning magazine Area Development recently named Springfi eld a “Leading Location” to set up a business. They examined 380 metropolitan areas across the nation and ranked Springfi eld 28th on the list. This city came in fi fth in the Midwest and eighth among cities of similar size. No other Illinois city even came close. (Chicago-Joliet-Naperville came in at 149 overall, in case you’re wondering.) Springfi eld has an educated workforce, low cost of living, good wages and relatively low unemployment, the report found. While we still have some work to do to catch up with number one ranked Lafayette, La., we feel kind of bad for our neighbors in Decatur, who came in last at 380. To check out the results for yourself, go online to www.areadevelopment.com/ LeadingLocations2013.