Voting is now open on the final round of the Illinois Manufacturer’s Association’s sixth annual Makers Madness competition.
Makers Madness is a bracket-style tournament in which voters across the state vote to name The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois; the competition celebrates the hard work of manufacturers across Illinois: the IMA touts manufacturing as the largest contributor of any industry to the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), supporting nearly a third of all jobs in Illinois and contributing more than $580 billion to the state’s economy each year.
With nearly 100,000 votes cast in just the latest round, voters have narrowed down the list of statewide favorites in eight head-to-head matchups between individual products. The original field of more than 250 nominees for The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois has now been whittled down to the Top 8:
- Gindo’s Spice of Life made by Gindo’s in St. Charles
- Aerial Firefighting Pump manufactured by MTH Pumps in Plano
- Chef Heatly’s Hot Pepper Farm Salsa made by Chef Heatley in Sandwich
- Joint Combined Aircrew Systems Tester, manufactured by Chemring Energetic Devices in Downers Grove
- Lagomarcino’s Chocolates made by Lagomarcino’s Confectionary in Moline
- Donor Milk made by Mother’s Milk Bank of Western Great Lakes in Elk Grove Village
- Whiskey Acres Blue Popcorn Bourbon manufactured by Whiskey Acres Distilling Co. in DeKalb
- The ROV Skimmer – Remote Operated Oil Skimmer manufactured by Elastec in Carmi.
Voting for this round is now open and will take place at www.makersmadnessil.com through 11:59 p.m. on March 30. Voters may cast one vote per day in each of the four head-to-head matchups between individual products. Consecutive rounds of voting will take place each week, with vote totals reset to zero at the beginning of each round. The contest will culminate with an awards ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion on April 9 when The Coolest Thing Made in Illinois will be named.
