It's Curious City Editor Alexandra Solomon.

Chicago's factories were booming in the early 1900s, but conditions inside those factories were terrible.

There was often little ventilation.

It was dirty.

Disease and injuries were common.

It really could be dangerous to go to work.

But today, we have all kinds of laws guaranteeing a safe

and healthy work environment, you know, where you won't be exposed to toxic chemicals like lead

and exits are easily accessible. And there's a woman whose groundbreaking work in Chicago

is one of the reasons these laws exist today.

Her name was Alice Hamilton.

The legacy of Alice Hamilton is something that has been a kind of North Star for us in occupational safety and health

because she singularly focused on shedding light onto a problem that had been ignored or just not dealt with or not cared about.

It's likely you've never even heard of her, even though she helped save millions of lives.

She was also involved in changes in legislation.

She was involved in committees on

state and national levels that were creating these very large-scale changes in workers' rights

and experiences. So what was Alice Hamilton's impact on Chicago and around the country?

Reporter Edie Rabinowitz dug into her story and found the answer.

That's coming up.

If you're already a WBEZ member, thank you.

Right now, you have the power to do even more.

...