Illinois Maker's Madness contest: Coolest thing made in the state revealed

CHICAGO - The Manufacturer's Association on Wednesday revealed the winner of this year's Maker's Madness contest, naming the coolest thing made in Illinois.

That contest is part of a bracket-style tournament, voted on by the public.

The big winner came from Peoria, as the Komatsu Mining Truck was declared the winner. It’s used for construction projects with a capacity of 30 to 400 tons and autonomous operation.

The truck beat out more than 200 unique products that were nominated as part of this year's contest. The competition looks to highlight manufacturing in all capacities around the state.

The big winner was announced during a ceremony at the Governor's Mansion. Governor JB Pritzker commended all the nominees for their hard work and commitment to the state.

"Together we are building on the foundation of manufacturing success that we've all known historically in Illinois, but now we're attracting more companies and new industry to our state. Suffice to say that the spirit of ingenuity, the spirit that you all know well in your companies, the spirit in Illinois is strong and everyone in this room is evidence of that," Pritzker said.

This was the fifth year of that Maker's Madness bracket tournament.

Last year's winner was a company in Rockford that makes moon habitats.

Nearly 300,000 votes were cast in the last two months as part of this year's competition.