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Disabled Athlete Scores a Big Win for Handicapped Competitors in Illinois

A Chicago-area swimmer rose to the challenge to fight rules that discriminated against disabled athletes. Sponsored by Grape-Nuts.

About this sponsorship: In honor of the 60th anniversary of Sir Edmund Hillary’s historic ascent of Mount Everest, Patch and Grape-Nuts are teaming up to highlight those who inspire people around them to climb their own mountains. Nothing bothers Mary Kate Callahan. Now an active teen, Callahan’s life changed when she was 5 months old. A virus attacked her spinal cord and left her paralyzed from the waist down.   “I didn’t let that stop me,” Callahan says. Despite this challenge, she has accomplished more during the past few years than many do in a lifetime. Callahan visits schools and speaks to children about overcoming obstacles. She took third place in a triathlon. But her biggest success came in changing Illinois High School …

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Popular on Patch: Fenwick Teacher Wins 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions, $250K

World history teacher Colby Burnett won $100,000 last year in the show's Teacher's Tournament and even more in its Tournament of Champions that finished airing Tuesday.

News Nearby: Fenwick Teacher Wins 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions, $250K

World history teacher Colby Burnett won $100,000 last year in the show's Teacher's Tournament and even more in its Tournament of Champions that finished airing Tuesday.

(This article originally appeared on Oak Park Patch.) Fenwick High School teacher Colby Burnett won the $250,000 grand prize Tuesday in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. Burnett, an AP World History teacher at Fenwick, won the show's Teacher's Tournament and $100,000 in prize money back in November and added to that total by beating the best of the best.  On Monday he built a big enough lead—$22,200 to the other contestants' $4,800 and $400—that he was able to coast on Tuesday. He got off to a poor start in the first round, but out of the commercial break we were reminded why we love him. Host Alex Trebek brought up the fact that Burnett's mother worked three jobs ("Two and a half, but let's say three because she worked that hard," …

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Video: Disabled Swimmer Hopes to Go to State With Team

Mary Kate Callahan, of La Grange, lost the use of her legs due to a rare neurological disease as an infant. She hopes to compete in the state swimming tournament and pave the way for other disabled athletes who are not allowed to compete in state meets.

Mary Kate Callahan, of La Grange, is a swimmer and senior at Fenwick High School in Oak Park. Like her teammates on the swim team, Callahan trains rigorously to improve her times and compete against fellow swimmers. Unlike her other teammates, Callahan is wheelchair bound—her legs were paralyzed due to a rare neurological disease as an infant. Callahan was named a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit in May against the Illinois High School Association, the nonprofit that regulates high school competitions across the state. Unlike in many other states, Callahan is not allowed to participate in state meets because she is disabled. For Patch's story on Callahan's fight for equality, click here. Callahan hopes that this year, her senior year, she'll…

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La Grange Teen's Fight for Equality

Backed by the Attorney General's Office and a disability rights advocacy group, Fenwick High School swimmer alleges in federal lawsuit the IHSA excludes her from competition.

Peppered by questions from TV and radio reporters, 16-year-old Mary Kate Callahan, of La Grange, calmly explained her rigorous training routines and the struggle to simply compete alongside her peers in state competitions. "I train just as hard as everyone else," the Fenwick High School junior said. "You know we put in just as much effort as everyone else." Callahan, wheelchair-bound because of a paralysis of her lower limbs, is named as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit against the Illinois High School Association, the nonprofit regulating the interscholastic competitions across the state. The lawsuit, filed jointly by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's Office and Equip for Equality, a Chicago-based advocacy group, alleges the IHSA …

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