$402 million. That’s the price hike that Peoples Gas has circled. Chicago residents could see their monthly natural gas bills rise by an average of $11.83 starting next year if state regulators approve rate hikes totaling $402 million as requested Friday by Peoples Gas. Peoples is asking for permission to raise rates by $195 million while also merging an additional $207 million into delivery costs to offset a $15-per-month surcharge slated to expire at the end of the year.

The commerce commission has the rest of this year to decide on Peoples’ request, but that agency has a full docket of other rate hike requests covering most of the state.

Chicago police have teamed up with auto shops in an effort to halt the speed of catalytic converter thefts. Andy Bizurp, who owns Midwest Performance on West Fulton, worked with officers to design a sticker that will be able to track these converters. “This has an acid etching in it,” Bizub said. “Once you apply the sticker, the acid will etch the numbers into the catalytic converter. Those numbers will remain and it will still be traceable.”

Others are expected to follow suit, depending on funds made available by each alderman’s office.

Obvious Shirts, a Chicago-based t-shirt company and premier destination for Cubs fans who are looking for something a little different, have joined the parade of supporting Damar Hamlin and his foundation. Company founder Joe Johnson obviously wanted to help Hamlin given his highly public situation, but for him, it was also personal. Johnson suffered from Kawasaki Syndrome at ages three and five and had to wear a heart guard while playing youth sports.

Their shirt can be found here.

Damar Hamlin tweeted from his hospital bed on Sunday afternoon that he has created his own shirt with proceeds going to first responders and the UC Trauma Center.

That shirt can be purchased here.

The Bears, who started the season winning two out of their first three games, struggled to find their footing as the season continued. They lost their last 10 games and thanks to a little help from former Bears head coach Lovie Smith and his Houston Texans, who squeaked out a victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the Bears have secured the first overall pick in the draft.

The Bears will have the first overall pick for the first time since 1947. Among the available players, the Bears have a chance to grab possibly elite defenders in Will Anderson (Alabama) or Jalen Carter (Georgia). Because the Bears don’t need a quarterback (assuming Justin Fields doesn’t have any injury setbacks), they are also in the market to trade down to teams like Houston, Indianapolis, or Carolina.

For the first time in a long time, it feels good to be a Bears fan.

Megan Hess, a Colorado funeral home operator accused of illegally selling body parts and giving clients fake ashes, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Tuesday by a federal court judge. Hess received the maximum penalty after pleading guilty to mail fraud. She and her mother, who was also charged, were shipping body parts to third parties for research without the consent of the deceased family.

Hess’ mother said during the sentencing, “I acknowledge my guilt and take responsibility for my actions. I’m very sorry for harm I caused you and your families.”

The baby gear company Gluxkind is ready to debut their Ella AI Powered Smart Stroller at an upcoming consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. The smart stroller offers much of the same tech seen in autonomous cars and delivery robots, including a dual-motor system for uphill walks and automatic downhill brake assist. The Ella stroller is able to drive itself for hands-free strolling, but only when a child is not inside. It uses cameras to monitor surroundings and navigate the sidewalks.

For $3,300, parents can join the pre-order list for the 30-pound Ella, one of the consumer tech products named as an Innovation Awards Honoree at the 2023 CES show. Deliveries of the stroller are expected to begin in April 2023, according to the company website.

You dogs. The premiere site for adult performers had their best year ever this past year, with billions of dollars pouring in in 2022. The site acts as a marketplace for adult performers, who upload their own material and keep 80% of the revenue. The remaining 20% goes to OnlyFans and covers the cost of running the business, handling credit card processing, and providing a very healthy income for the site’s owner.

As if that stat wasn’t impressive enough, it should be noted that,

• Over 170 million users have registered an OnlyFans account, including 1.5 million creators.
• An additional 500,000 new users sign up to the OnlyFans per day.
• The OnlyFans platform grows at a rate of 70% per month!
• In total, OnlyFans pays out over $5 billion to its collective of content creators each year.
• Bella Thorne made over $1million in her first 24 hours of having an account.
• The average age of paid subscription members is 35-44.
• The average OnlyFans content creator only has 21 subscribers.

Last year, Illinois luckily shed some haters and losers as our state turned out to be the #2 state that people moved away from. Despite whistleblowers that will point to crime statistics, the biggest reasons that people moved out of the state were for job changes, moving to be closer to family, and retirement.

Illinois trails only New Jersey, with New York, Michigan, and Wyoming rounding out the top 5.

These people obviously had to go somewhere, and these 10 states saw the greatest influx in people moving there in 2022,

1. Vermont
2. Oregon
3. Rhode Island
4. South Carolina
5. Delaware
6. North Carolina
7. Washington, D.C.
8. South Dakota
9. New Mexico
10. Alabama