Do you like your eggs over-easy, scrambled or sunny-side-up? Well, any way you like them, you are guaranteed some of the best breakfast food in the nation at seven different restaurants in the Chicago area. OpenTable released its list for 100 Most Popular Brunch Spots in the U.S. using more than 13 million diner reviews. The top 100 span over 22 states, with Illinois claiming seven of the spots.

Whether you are a fan of pancakes, omelets or biscuits and gravy, Illinois has got you covered. The top seven best brunch locations include 3 Arts Club Café, Café Ba-Ba-Reeba, Summer House Santa Monica, The Dearborn, Beatrix and Mason Sabika. Beatrix is located in Oak Park and Meson Sabika is located in Naperville. The other five restaurants can all be found in Chicago.

Every location offers their own unique décor, ranging from humble café to chandeliers. You can dine indoors or outdoors at these breakfast locations. Some also serve dinner once the time for brunch is over. Menus may vary, but at every location you will find the classic pancakes and bacon with eggs.

Just in time for Mother’s Day, take your family down to some of the best brunch restaurants in town! See the full list of 100 Most Popular Brunch Spots in the U.S. here.

Data centers are grand physical locations with hundreds of computers, machines and other hardware that store the data we use every day. Data centers have been expanding around the world as we become more dependent on cloud and data storage. 

As a result of a 2019 data center investment program, Illinois has served as one of the best data center markets in the nation and now ranks fifth in the world for data centers. These centers have rejuvenated the Chicago-area cloud system and attracted more than $4.2 billion in new investments to the state.

The 2019 program was a tax incentive plan designed to jump-start data center development in Illinois. The centers would receive exemptions from state and local sales taxes on data center equipment for 10 years if they invested a minimum of $250 million in the facility and created at least 20 high-paying full-time jobs. A study by Mangum Economics shows that the program drew 13 data center projects to the state, creating more than 8,000 jobs.

With the success of this program, Illinois is now the fifth best place in the world for data centers, cementing our place as one of the forerunners in cloud storage and the technology of the future.

The Illinois’ Manufacturers Association has begun its fourth annual Makers Madness Contest, a state-wide tournament where the public can vote for their favorite product made in Illinois.

The contest consists of a bracket styled tournament, which begins with a public nomination period that ends Feb. 19. Once nominations are complete, voters will be able to select their 16 favorite products, which will go head-to-head until a winner is decided.

Last year’s winner was Normal Illinois’ very own all-electric truck, the Rivian R1T. The truck received the majority of over 200,000 votes last year, winning the title of “Coolest Thing Made in Illinois.” Rivian Automotive is based in Normal, and have produced over 14,000 electric vehicles since they opened their doors.

Nominations are accepted through Feb. 19. The winner will be announced on March 29.

People can nominate a product here

• 2023 Schedule:Nominations Accepted: February 2 – 19
• Nomination Voting: February 21 – March 5
• First Round (Top 16): March 7 – 12
• Second Round (Top 8): March 14 – 19
• Final Round (Top 4): March 21 – 26
• Winner Announced: March 29

On Jan. 13, the famed Jimmy John’s store known for delivering its sub sandwiches at the speed of light celebrated its opening 40 years ago in Charleston. The original owner, Jimmy John Liautaud, began the franchise as a hot dog stand originally. The Arlington Heights native quickly realized, however, that hot dogs were not selling well and had to turn to other options if he wanted to be successful and pay back his father for helping him out.

After some research into Chicago hot dog stands, Liautaud realized that it would be too expensive to continue that route and switched to sub sandwiches. His reasoning for picking sub sandwiches was the fact that he could get deli meat for cheap, as he was struggling to pay back his father for the loan he got from him to originally start the hot dog stand right after he graduated from high school. He felt he could easily turn a profit from having more options to provide to cater to more people. His next step would be perfecting his bread recipe, and from there he decided to venture out and start advertising his products.

After long, grueling hours and even handing out free sandwiches to dorm rooms at nearby colleges, Jimmy John's finally opened on Jan. 13, 1983. The original building was a two-car garage turned into pizza store that happened to fail so he got it for a fair price. Today, Jimmy John's is headquartered in Champaign-Urbana and has almost 3,000 locations across 43 states. After many freaky fast deliveries, Jimmy John’s continues to be another example of successful businesses flourishing from Illinois.

In the northwestern part of Illinois known as the Quad Cities lies a little bit of sweet history – Lagomarcino’s, one of the last soda-candy confectioneries in the nation. Since 1908, Lagomarcino’s has been a staple to Moline. From their own homemade ice cream to the famous soda fountain follies, it’s no wonder this place is so well loved that it opened their second location right across the river in Davenport, Iowa.

For more than 110 years, the confectionery has been making chocolates, candy, and homemade ice cream. Currently, the store has been passed down four generations within the Lagomarcino family and is still using the same original copper kettle kitchen at the original Moline location.

The story begins with Angelo Lagomarcino emigrating from Italy in the late 1800s. After getting married, he worked in Burlington, Iowa, with his brother Carl, and in 1908 Angelo decided Moline was the best location to have his own business. He created a wide array of fine chocolates, sundaes, and malts that are still on the menu to this day.

The family run store has also won a number of awards, including the prestigious James Beard Foundation America’s Classic Award in 2006. This award is given out to only a handful of owned restaurants that have a “timeless appeal and are beloved regionally for quality food that reflects the character of its community.” Since the creation of the institution, they have gone on to serve more than just sweet treats and have a whole menu of classic American food.

According to their website, they plan to keep going on for at least another 100 years or more. A little piece of Americana that is still prevalent to this day is a feat on its own. Every major holiday has specialty themed sweets and items crafted upon the day of celebration – from candy apples to deliciously made Christmas tree chocolates, this spot is definitely one to check out in Illinois!