Teen driving deaths fall in Illinois
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Jesse White
kicked off National Teen Driver Safety Week on Oct. 15, 2017 by announcing that teen driving deaths have decreased by 51 percent in less than 10 years.
The graduated driver’s license program in Illinois was strengthened when the Teen Driver Safety Task Force was established in 2008 with the goal of decreasing the number of teen deaths in Illinois.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, graduated licenses reduce teens’ driving risks by allowing teens to practice driving with supervision before getting their full- license and limiting in-car distractions. In Illinois, the new graduated licensing laws restricted hours of night driving for teenagers and the number of passengers that drivers under 20 can have in their car. Today, all states have some foundations of the GDL program.
Amazon to hire 10,000 seasonal workers in Illinois
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With the holiday season right around the corner, Amazon is looking to hire more than 120,000 seasonal workers nationwide, including 10,000 new employees in Illinois.
The seasonal hiring in Illinois is a part of the online retailer’s overall goal of adding thousands of temporary workers across the country to its distribution centers, sorting centers and customer service sites.
Artist of the Month - Alexa Frank
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Alexa Frank is an artist from Springfield who now resides in Chicago. She creates acrylic paintings using bright colors and high contrast. 
How long have you been an artist or when did you start? Was there a single incident or moment when you realized this was your passion and if so, tell us about it?
I took my first art class in high school; it was just a hobby at the time actually. In college I would paint simply for the joy of it. I love the feeling of the whole process… thinking of a dope idea, preparing and sketching, painting, and then the excitement of finally looking at the finished piece.
Illinois has been factored into your work in the past. What does being able to live and work in Illinois mean to you?
I have lived in Illinois my whole life, so I guess I am a little biased for this question. It helps to live and work in a place where you are surrounded by your family and friends, and it helps even more when they support your passion. So living in a place where I can do what I love and be with the people I love says it all right there.
What opportunities does Illinois present to local Illinois artists?
Local businesses in the Springfield area are always supporting local art, which is always so great to see walking in to places. I currently live in Chicago, and it seems like every weekend a different neighborhood has an art festival. The talent at these things… amazing!
What do you like about Illinois?
I love that I can get the best of both worlds in Illinois. I can enjoy the beautiful city of Chicago on a daily basis, and I can also enjoy weekends in Springfield spending time with my family. The balance is perfect.
What is your favorite medium to work in?
I love to paint with acrylic paints, especially bright colors and high contrast.
Where can people view or purchase your work?
People can view my work on Etsy by clicking here. I mainly do custom work so if people have ideas they throw them at me, and it’s my job to make it come to life.
What artist inspires you and why?
Takashi Murakami has inspired me. He is a contemporary artist who loves to use pop culture and create artwork. He uses mixed media and loves to create pieces with both detail and abstraction. You can tell all of his work has a story behind it, which is the best part.
The City of Rochelle is proving Illinois business critics wrong
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In the small town of Rochelle, about 80 miles west of Chicago at the intersection of Interstates 88 and 39, business is booming. The Greater Rochelle Economic Development Corporation has attracted companies like Nippon Sharyo, Boise Cascade, Tyson Foods, and Hormel.
This rural community consists of about 9,000 people, and its economy is bolstered by frozen French fries, bacon, ethanol, fabricated steel, hydroponic tomatoes, and the production of passenger cars for METRA. Each year, about 16,000 freight cars pass through Rochelle, picking up and delivering grain and other goods. Rochelle will soon gain another local gross domestic product from a boutique whiskey that is distilled in a former downtown theater.
Rochelle is also home to a 1,200 acre intermodal rail park operated by Union Pacific. This park is used as a shipping point to send goods to the Pacific Rim.
The growth doesn’t stop there. The future for Rochelle as an industrial star in Illinois and the Midwest looks bright. Rochelle is working to bring a $1.6 billion auto assembly plant from Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp., which could employ 4,000 people, to the town. Bidders from more than a dozen states are looking at the same prize, but Rochelle is already prepared. The town has 1,000 acres of corn and soybeans set aside for the new plant.
Rochelle is proving the common melody played by political and business elites wrong. Illinois is not a diminishing state, but instead outshining surrounding states in certain areas thanks to cities like Rochelle.
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