Illinois Department of Labor

“You have to get the foundation laid and then go from there,” said Lynn Cope, whose 29-year-old son, Clayton, was killed by an Edwardsville tornado in December 2021.

Following an Edwardsville tornado that killed six Amazon employees, the Illinois Warehouse Safety Task Force made preliminary recommendations on Tuesday.

The U.S. Department of Labor is currently holding more than $5 million in wages owed to more than 7,000 Illinois workers, and the department has launched a new website in an effort to return it.

The lawsuit filed in Chicago claims new requirements are overly burdensome, preempted by federal law.

There were 72 successful petitions to organize labor unions in Illinois last year, which represent 9,600 new unionized workers — the highest single-year numbers at any point in the last decade.

The grant money comes as part of President Joe Biden’s signature $1.2 trillion infrastructure package signed into law almost two years ago, and aims to promote gender equity and inclusion in the male-dominated field.