Eye On Illinois: Intersection of tech and charity holds interesting potential

Vivery as a word may mean nothing to most, but as an idea it could be powerful.

On Monday, Northern Illinois Food Bank launched Vivery, a digital platform through which food aid agencies can more easily promote end-user access to specific resources. This work certainly bears watching. Chicago’s Thierer Family Foundation, which developed Vivery, already works in arts, shelter and human services. Many state agencies should consider possible integration and modernization efforts.

MAILBAG: Concerning electric vehicles and gas taxes, T.W. writes: “Rather than try to recreate a fuel tax on energy used, it makes more sense to create a new system based on how much stress a vehicle places on the road structure itself.

“In order to gain an understanding of load stress on a road you can read the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials report on road deterioration experiments. A fundamental finding of this report is what is known as ‘the fourth power law.’ This law states that the greater the axle load of a vehicle, the greater the stress that is caused on the road by said vehicle increases to the fourth power of the axle load. For example, a truck with a gross vehicle weight of 30 ton and three axles (10 ton per axle) compared to a car weighing two tons (one ton per axle carry load) shows a load difference of 10:1. However, the fourth power law indicates the deterioration effect is 10 to the fourth power:1 or 10,000 to one.

“It doesn’t take a math expert to see semi-tractor trailers are getting an incredible break compared to automobiles when it comes to paying their fair share of the cost of highway maintenance. Furthermore, out-of-state trucks most likely get an even better deal compared to local car drivers. I don’t have the answers, but by studying the results from this report Illinois lawmakers could develop a more equitable program for maintaining our roads.”

ON THIS DAY: Jan. 24 is significant for two aviators. Today is the 131st birthday of Bessie Coleman, the first Black woman and Native American to hold a pilot license. Coleman moved to Chicago in 1915 and completed flight training in France. She died in a Florida crash in 1926 and is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island. She’s featured on a new quarter designed released Jan. 3.

The other is Merrill Meigs, namesake of the former Loop airfield. He was on a national champion football team at University of Chicago, became a powerful newspaper executive, gave flying lessons to President Harry Truman and was instrumental in Chicago’s aviation prominence. He died this day in 1968 at age 84 and is buried at Mount Hope in Chicago.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Media. Follow him on Twitter @sth749. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.