University of Illinois student named ms. wheelchair Illinois

• University of Illinois at Springfield

This July, Alicia Williams, a senior attending University of Illinois Springfield will represent Illinois for Ms. Wheelchair USA 2017. She was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Illinois from a field of 11 contenders.

Williams says she is honored to represent the Prairie State at the Ms. Wheelchair USA pageant in Ohio this July. She is advocating for more accessibility in businesses, especially since she is graduating this summer and intends to look for meaningful employment.

Employment is a crucial component in life. A qualified applicant should have an opportunity to work at their desired establishment, but this is not the case for many people with disabilities. Their opportunities are reduced by a lack of accessibility.

If businesses are inaccessible for a section of the population, that is detrimental for business growth and the patrons affected. Her message is potent and speaks on behalf of a community that seldom has the opportunity to participate in pageants.

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Illinois artist of the month: Nina Weiss

• Arts & Culture
• Artist of the month
• Landscapes
• Oils
• Nina Weiss
• Illinois Prairies

Nina Weiss is an artist based in Chicago who has been painting and drawing landscapes for over 30 years. She spent 18 of those also teaching at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and other various appointments.

Coming to the Midwest after growing up on the East Coast, Weiss was enthralled by the wide open fields and drawn to depict this new and exotic landscape. She seeks to create a heightened view of the natural world with dramatic, lush and complex colors beyond the expected greenery. Rhythm, light and color all dominate her wonderful prairies and waterways, many of which are local in Illinois.

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Remembering the Sacrifice, Protecting Workers

• Economy
• Workplace Safety
• Workers' Compensation
• Cherry Mine

A tragic coal mine fire in Bureau County 107 years ago was the impetus behind Illinois becoming a national leader on workers’ compensation and workplace safety laws.

In 1909, the Cherry Mine in Bureau County employed more than 500 men and produced 1,500 tons of coal daily to fuel locomotives for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. Immigrant mining families flocked to Cherry for steady employment in what was considered one of the safest mines in the country at the time.

On Nov. 13 that year, a kerosene torch dripped hot oil on a cart of hay for the mules that worked inside the mine. The hay smoldered unnoticed and a blaze eventually erupted, blocking the escape of many of the miners working that day. When all was said and done, 259 of them perished from burns and asphyxiation, leaving behind 500 fatherless children and 160 widows.

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New sweat monitor developed by University of Illinois researchers

• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Research

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have developed a flexible patch that monitors if you need to rehydrate.

The new device is placed on your forearm or lower back. It absorbs sweat and tests for glucose, lactate, chloride and pH levels to determine if you are overworking your body. Circles in the patch will change colors as they test your sweat. A smartphone app analyzes the color of the circles and determines the contents of your sweat.

The patches are designed for a single use and can monitor sweat for up to six hours.

Although the design is still a few years away from completion, it could be used to warn athletes or military personnel when they are nearing overexertion before it’s too late.