CHICAGO – A new report finds the healthiest county in Illinois is Douglas County, in the central part of the state, and the least healthy is Alexander County, at the state’s southern tip.

The report released Wednesday is the fourth annual county rankings from University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It brings together a variety of data on factors such as smoking, obesity, teen birth rates, poverty and access to dentists and primary care doctors.

The rankings are part of a project to help counties take action to improve health. The University of Wisconsin has a website providing guidance to counties and, in February, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation awarded six $25,000 prizes to communities that are organizing to improve health. The winning communities were in five states: California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota.