State Senators Mattie Hunter and Martin A. Sandoval joined Metra, last month, to unveil the new $142 million Englewood flyover bridge designed to eliminate one of the nation's worst railroad bottlenecks on Chicago's Southside.

The landmark flyover bridge will decrease Metra and Amtrak train delays for the 140 freight and passenger trains that use tracks each day. Outdated signals and switches made crossing on ground level an arduous process. The century-old maze of track took some trains two days to navigate the city's railroad system.

Friday, State Senator Mattie Hunter and Mercy Hospital partnered to offer free glucose and cholesterol screenings in honor of World Diabetes Day.

The Chicago Public Library, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Branch at 3436 S. King Dr., opened its doors to help Southside Chicagoans determine if they were at risk of developing diabetes, which affects more than 25 million Americans.

State Senator Mattie Hunter and Mercy Hospital are partnering to provide free glucose and cholesterol screenings on Friday, November 14, World Diabetes Awareness Day, on Chicago’s South side. The event is part of a statewide push by the Illinois Legislative Diabetes Caucus to help residents determine if they are at risk.

The free screenings will be held at Chicago Public Library, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Branch, 3436 S. King Dr., Chicago, IL 60616 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Hunter and Mercy Hospital encourage residents planning to receive a screening not to eat anything Friday morning in order to get the most accurate results.

Once seen as a woman’s issue, breast cancer is a national health issue that affects men, women and increasingly younger adults. Illinoisans should be aware of traditional diagnostic issues and prevention methods in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

There are several types of breast cancer, a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of a breast. The disease occurs mostly in women, but men are susceptible to the hereditary disease as well.