(Benton, IL) — The owner of several Illinois coal mines is agreeing to pay more than four-million-dollars to a group of women who claimed they were denied miners’ jobs because of their gender. A federal government suit on their behalf named Illinois mines owned by Foresight Energy of St. Louis, accusing them of systematically denying jobs to women. Under the settlement, the company must also hire at least 34 women in Illinois and make sure they’re successfully integrated into the work force.