Lake County Gazette

Essendant, which is based in Deerfield, earned a score of 70 in a ranking that evaluates the corporate non-discrimination policies based on “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.”

A total of 15 companies in Illinois received a rating of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index. Nationwide, 842 businesses received the maximum score, reflecting the rating’s evaluation that these are among the “best places” for LGBTQ+ members to work.

Essendant is on the Fortune 1000 list of large U.S. companies.

The CEI rating criteria are based on four categories: nondiscrimination policies, pledges of equal benefits for LGBTQ+ employees and their families, support for an inclusive workplace and “corporate social responsibility.”

Companies might be adhering to CEI policies to please their top shareholders and secure bonuses and board positions for themselves, the New York Post reported. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who has been called “the face” of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), wrote in a 2018 letter to CEOs titled “A Sense of Purpose” that companies that fail to serve a social purpose “will ultimately lose the license to operate from key stakeholders.”

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, author of “Woke Inc.: Inside America’s Social Justice Scam,” said, “The big fund managers like BlackRock all embrace this ESG orthodoxy in how they apply pressure to top corporate management teams and boards and they determine, in many cases, executive compensation and bonuses and who gets re-elected or re-appointed to boards. They can make it very difficult for you if you don’t abide by their agendas.”

Prioritizing CEI rankings might not always bring the results executives are hoping for, as in the case of Anheuser-Busch’s promotion of Dylan Mulvaney, a 26-year-old TikTok star who transitioned from male to female in 2021 and has since raked in over $1 million in brand endorsements. Bud Light’s and Nike’s ad campaigns featuring Mulvaney drew criticism from stars like Kid Rock, Travis Tritt and Caitlyn Jenner, but Derek Kreifels, the co-founder and CEO of State Financial Officers Foundation, said the backlash may end up being more significant.

In the two weeks after Bud Light’s launch of the Mulvaney ad campaign, Anheuser-Busch’s value decreased by more than $5 billion, the New York Post reported.

The CEI ranking examines business-related activities such as education, training and accountability measures and how inclusive they are.

A total of 1,200 companies, both privately and publicly held, participated in the survey in 2022. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation initiated the survey in 2002.

Employer	Headquarters Location	State	2022 CEI Rating	Fortune 1000 Rank?
Abbott Laboratories	Abbott Park	IL	95	Yes
Alight Solutions	Lincolnshire	IL	100	No
Baker Tilly US, LLP	Chicago	IL	100	No
Beam Suntory	Chicago	IL	100	No
CIBC Bank USA	Chicago	IL	85	No
CNA Financial Corporation	Chicago	IL	100	No
Crate Barrel / CB2	Northbrook	IL	90	No
Cushman & Wakefield	Chicago	IL	100	No
Discover Financial Services	Riverwoods	IL	100	Yes
Essendant	Deerfield	IL	70	Yes
Federal Reserve Bank Chicago	Chicago	IL	100	No
JLL	Chicago	IL	100	Yes
Kearney	Chicago	IL	100	No
Kin + Carta	Chicago	IL	90	No
MERGE	Chicago	IL	95	No
Molson Coors Beverage Company	Chicago	IL	100	Yes
NielsenIQ	Chicago	IL	100	No
Numerator	Chicago	IL	85	No
Old Republic International	Chicago	IL	20	Yes
Packaging Corporation America	Lake Forest	IL	20	Yes
Rightpoint Consulting, LLC	Chicago	IL	90	No
S&C Electric Company	Chicago	IL	80	No
State Farm Group	Bloomington	IL	100	Yes
TransUnion	Chicago	IL	100	Yes
True Value Company, L.L.C.	Chicago	IL	85	Yes
Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance	Bolingbrook	IL	65	Yes
United Airlines Holdings, Inc.	Chicago	IL	100	Yes
UScellular	Chicago	IL	100	No
Zebra Technologies Corporation	Lincolnshire	IL	95	Yes
Zurich North America	Schaumburg	IL	95	No