Quincy Reporter

Illinois was ranked 23rd overall in a report on the U.S. Prosperity Index, the Center Square reported.

The state has moved up five places in recent years, Shaun Flanagan, the director of the Centre for Metrics at Legatum Institute in London told the news agency.

"Illinois is definitely doing some things well," Flanagan said, according to the news agency. "It's moved up five places in the rankings. Ten years ago, it was sort of underperforming when compared to the Midwest, but now it's actually outperforming the Midwest as a whole."

The report looks at how states are performing when it comes to lifting their people out of poverty. It looks at both economic and social well-being, focusing on open economies, empowered people and inclusive societies, the news agency reported. 

While Illinois ranked middle-of-the-road overall, it ranked 49th in economic quality and last in fiscal sustainability, according to The Center Square. It also ranked lower in government integrity. The state did, however, rank 10th in market access and infrastructure.

Flanagan told the news agency the state had a good transportation system and had good access to reliable electricity, which were all positive.

"We’re trying to look at how well-placed the state is to function in terms of its financial position,” Flanagan told the news agency. "We look at things like state reserves capacity, or how many days could the state survive if income were to dry up. That's fallen in Illinois. We also look at the sort of revenue to expenditure ratio, the state budget balance, the state pension funding, as well as the government credit rating."

When looking at corruption, Illinois ranked 41st, 43rd and 38th in the index's three measures, which Flanagan indicated means the state could do better.

Massachusetts came in first overall on the report, with Connecticut coming in second. Mississippi and Louisiana secured the bottom spots.