Report: Douglas County Healthiest Illinois Community

Douglas County has ranked at the top of a list of Illinois’ healthiest communities, according to new annual report from the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The rankings look at things like access to dental care, obesity, unemployment, and criminal activity.

The Population Health Institute’s Angela Russell said Douglas County can serve as a model for many other communities that are struggling to maintain healthy environments.

“Their premature death rate is quite low," Russell said. "Their rate of babies being born less than five pounds eight ounces is low compared to the rest of the state. They’re doing well as it relates to some social economic factors including high school graduation, and the community is safe. They’ve got a really low crime rate.”

But Russell said Douglas County could improve access to primary care physicians and dentists.

Out of all 102 Illinois counties listed in the report, Champaign came at number 23, DeWitt came in at 59, and Vermilion was at the bottom of the list at 96.

Here's a look at how the counties rank, from healthiest to least healthy:

     1.Douglas

     2.Jo Daviess

     3.Woodford

     4.Mercer

     5.Henry

     6.DuPage

     7.Kendall

     8.Schuyler

     9.Brown

     10.McDonough

     11.Pike

     12.Kane

     13.Calhoun

     14.DeKalb

     15.Clinton

     16.Lake

     17.McHenry

     18.Whiteside

     19.Washington

     20.Piatt

     21.Monroe

     22.Ogle

     23.Champaign

     24.Effingham

     25.Will

     26.Menard

     27.Hancock

     28.Boone

     29.Tazewell

     30.Shelby

     31.Moultrie

     32.Warren

     33.McLean

     34.Ford

     35.Bureau

     36.Cumberland

     37.Jersey

     38.Henderson

     39.Morgan

     40.Lee

     41.Grundy

     42.Fayette

     43.Randolph

     44.Adams

     45.Macoupin

     46.Wayne

     47.Scott

     48.Stark

     49.Clay

     50.Stephenson

     51.Richland

     52.Perry

     53.Carroll

     54.Rock Island

     55.Coles

     56.Wabash

     57.Cass

     58.Putnam

     59.DeWitt

     60.Pope

     61.Greene

     62.Bond

     63.Jasper

     64.Marshall

     65.Johnson

     66.Peoria

     67.Union

     68.Iroquois

     69.Fulton

     70.White

     71.Clark

     72.Kankakee

     73.Jackson

     74.Knox

     75.Logan

     76.Edgar

     77.LaSalle

     78.Cook

     79.Montgomery

     80.Sangamon

     81.Christian

     82.Winnebago

     83.Madison

     84.Livingston

     85.Crawford

     86.Macon

     87.Williamson

     88.St. Clair

     89.Lawrence

     90.Jefferson

     91.Marion

     92.Mason

     93.Hamilton

     94.Hardin

     95.Massac

     96.Vermilion

     97.Saline

     98.Pulaski

     99.Franklin

     100.Edwards

     101.Gallatin

     102.Alexander