Midwest keeps climbing: The Midwest Companies in St. Charles made the list for the third time at #31, up from #39 last year. The family-owned business started in 1969, when founder Peter Orum began growing groundcover on five acres off Route 25 just north of town. Today it’s a successful provider of container plants, soils, mulches, horticultural supplies, and more.

Lucky #7 for Batavia parks: The Batavia Park District made the list for the seventh time, this timet #39, up three spots from last year. As part of this award, the organization was recognized in several categories, including work-life flexibility, purpose and values, compensation and values, employee well-being, and more.

A first for the “Pond Guy”: Aquascape of St. Charles made the list for the first time at #70. Founder and CEO Greg Wittstock started building ponds at age 12, partly as homes for his pet turtles, before deciding to make pond-building his career in 1990. The business now sells to distributors, runs a retail store, and installs water features. (It’s a fun spot to visit if you’ve never been.)

An Elburn original: Engineering Enterprises Inc. ranked #7 in its second year on the list. The civil engineering firm opened in Elburn in 1974 with four employees and stayed there for 20 years before moving to Sugar Grove. The firm designs and oversees public works projects for towns across northern Illinois, plus handles mapping and surveying.