Gregory Bartusiak

The Illinois Tollway Monday night held its first public hearing over proposed rate hikes that could be the largest in state history. The proposed hikes, part of a $26.5 billion capital program, would fund the next 15 years of roadwork on the tollway system, NBC 5 traffic and transportation reporter Kye Martin said. If the proposal is approved, the rate increases would be the Illinois Tollway’s first rate hikes in more than a decade.

It’s a rare sight (and smell) indeed at the Chicago Botanic Garden, as an infamous “Corpse Flower” has begun to bloom. Officials at the Botanic Garden made the announcement on Monday, as one of the garden’s “Titan Arum” flowers began blooming Monday morning. The flower, named “Alice,” will likely continue to bloom for only a short period, for around 24-to-36 hours, but while it does, it will emit the noxious odor that makes the flower famous.

A huge crowd of adorable shih tzu’s and their owners gathered in Chicago’s popular Lincoln Park on Saturday for a meet up event. The meetup event was organized through social media by Chicagoan Krista Wright and New York influencer Olivia Caputo, both dog moms to shih tzus named Enzo. More than 160,000 people follow Caputo’s Instagram account, @enzoistheshiht, and Wright’s family-run local business, Green Pet, also helped host the event.