Illinois hospitals have made great strides this year, making the state home to 37 of the safest hospitals in the country, according to a new report.

Every two years, the Leapfrog Group releases a list of the safest hospitals in the country after analyzing over 2,500 different hospitals across the nation.

Leapfrog analyzes these hospitals according to 27 criteria, including the number of infections in patients, problems arising from surgeries, the use of practices like computerized medication ordering, the strength of hospital leadership and more. The Leapfrog Group then assigns each hospital a safety rating in the form of a letter grade.

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Amazon is devoting a lot of effort to prevent packages from being stolen from porches and outside homes.

The online retailer is making a new service available to Amazon Prime members in 37 cities, including Chicago, who own a 2015 or newer Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac or Volvo. Those who can meet all these criteria will have the option of having their packages delivered to the trunk or back seat of their car, with a guaranteed safe delivery. These newer-model cars can be remotely unlocked, allowing Amazon's deliverers to receive a one-time access code to open the trunk in order to deliver the package. An alert is sent to customers once it is delivered.

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O’Hare and Midway international airports will now provide free unlimited wireless internet for the first time to all travelers.

The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) announced this week that the state’s two major airports will offer free Wi-Fi service with streaming capability, replacing time-based free Wi-Fi sessions at all locations in the airports.

CDA Commissioner Ginger S. Evans said in a statement the new service is being offered to enhance the passenger experience and to highlight efforts to modernize the Chicago airports.

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Did you know that today is National Caramel Day? If you want to celebrate, check out one of these locally owned shops in Illinois.

Flesor’s Candy Kitchen in Tuscola

Flesor’s Candy Kitchen is a classic example of the American Dream. Gus Flesor bought the building and opened his own confectionary in 1901, after emigrating from Greece. Success in the business allowed him to bring two of his brothers to Tuscola. Gus Flesor is known for their delicious caramels that you can buy wrapped or homemade hand-dipped. All their candy is made by hand with no preservatives. 

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According to a recent study by IBM Watson Health, Illinois has one of the highest numbers of top hospitals in the state. Out of the 100 top hospitals in the nation, only Texas and Ohio exceeded Illinois in the number of top-ranking hospitals.

IBM Watson Health’s study analyzed about 2,750 acute care, short-term, non-federal hospitals for the 2018 list. Its study reported that top-performing hospitals realized better risk-adjusted outcomes and maintained both a lower cost to patients and a higher profit margin.

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