Metra has officially announced a new real-time train tracker that will give commuters up-to-date departure times, real-time mapping of trains, and the ability to plan out trips within the system. In order to implement the new system, Metra officials say that GPS trackers have been installed at more than 200 stations, along with more than 1,000 train cars. The rollout is expected to last for several months, with more trains added as the year moves along, the agency says.

Per NBC 5, “The tracker, clocking in at a cost of $26.7 million according to the agency, will roll out on Union Pacific lines, as well as the Southwest Service line, which serves the city’s southwestern suburbs, and the BNSF line, which serves the western suburbs.”

“Where I’m from, you can’t afford to be depressed.” G-Unit rapper 50 Cent went off on a radio show this week. He noted, “depression is a luxury.” The Queens-born rapper went on to say, “You gotta pay the bills, right? So you gotta go to work,” he said. “You gotta get up, gotta go do what you gotta do. You got people right now that’s at work that don’t feel like being there. But they got responsibilities.”

What are your thoughts on his comments? The conversation lives on Facebook!

Move over, Boston. Chicago now has the second worst traffic in the world, according to the analytics firm Inrix. They lead the country in congestion, only trailing London on a global scale. The average Chicago driver lost 155 hours sitting in traffic in 2022, up from 104 hours in 2021, and marking the second year in a row that Chicago nabbed the top spot in the United States.

Per WGN, the report points to fewer people choosing public transportation as one of the reasons there’s more congestion. Average weekday ridership on CTA buses and trains in October was only at 56% of the amount it was in 2019, and Metra weekday ridership for November was at 44% of pre-pandemic levels.

Justin was pacing around his home in Palatine last night when he brought up a very valid question, based off this TikTok that he ran across. Can you return cheese? A woman certainly needs to after she ordered .25 pounds of cheese, but 30 pounds showed up to her door.

Do you think it’s okay to return this cheese? The conversation lives on Facebook!

You spend eight years of your life with someone and in that time, you start to picture the rest of your life with them. When it comes time to tie the knot, you imagine wearing a ring that you can show off to your friends, family, and even strangers who just want to marvel at the beauty of your symbol of forever. Instead, you get something like this,

According to a recent study, a majority of women care about the size of their ring. According to the study, 80% of women admit to subtly mentioning what they wanted in an engagement ring to their future spouses. On top of that, 7 out of ten future brides actively participated in the ring selection process.

Would you accept this ring if you were in her situation? The conversation lives on Facebook!

The biggest thing to happen to Chicago since the Cubs won the World Series will be happening on today at 10am. Raising Cane’s, the Louisiana-based chicken empire, is making their way downtown and opening a humungous location inside the historic Montgomery Building along North Michigan Avenue near Madison Street. Doors officially open at 10am for an all-day party featuring Cane, the brand’s mascot, the Chicago Bulls DJ (DJ One Change), and giveaways including free Cane’s for a year.

Cane’s is in the midst of a massive Northern expansion that has taken the company away from the South, exclusively. In 2021, they opened a location on Clark & Waveland, down the street from Wrigley Field. Case the Producer encourages everyone to try the downtown location, however, as he’s become very concerned with the long lines at the Wrigleyville location.

More information on the Cane’s grand opening can be found here.

A body discovered Sunday along Chicago’s Lake Michigan shoreline has been identified as that of a Gary, Indiana man, authorities said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the body as John Puza Jr.

Puza’s body was found Sunday afternoon by Chicago police officers who responded to a call to help a marine unit with a body in the water along North DuSable Lake Shore Drive, police said.

His cause of death is unconfirmed at this point.