Glorious Garden Festival marks 25th anniversary

• Arts & Culture
• Parks and Recreation

A beloved annual celebration in Bloomington will reach a lofty milestone in July. The David Davis Mansion State Historic Site will be celebrating the 25th year of its Glorious Garden Festival on July 16-17.

First hosted in 1997, the Glorious Garden Festival brings local residents and tourists to the Bloomington-Normal community to take part in garden-themed events and to share gardening knowledge.

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Did you know: Lincoln Park Zoo is the oldest public zoo in the nation

• Lincoln Park Zoo

Did you know Lincoln Park Zoo is the oldest public zoo in the nation? Chicago’s free zoo got its start after New York’s Central Park gifted two pairs of swans to the zoo in 1868.

Today, the zoo is home to nearly 200 unique species from around the world. The variety of animals is endless, from critically endangered eastern black rhinoceroses to Jamaican iguanas – which were previously thought to be extinct.

Lincoln Park has more than 2,000 individual plants representing more than 1,200 species on their 49-acre landscape that creates an urban oasis home to native birds, frogs, fish, turtles, insects and more.

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The Matrix’s architects

• Chicago
• Pride
• Matrix
• Wachowski Sisters

As The Architect in “Matrix Reloaded” once said, “The first matrix I designed was quite naturally perfect. It was a work of art. Flawless. Sublime.” But did you know the real architects of the Matrix were born in Chicago?

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Illinois leads the Midwest in number of Fortune 500 companies

• Economy
• Business

A new report shows that Illinois remains one of the best states for big-name companies to set up shop.

The 2021 ranking of Fortune 500 companies includes 38 companies with their headquarters located in Illinois. With 38 of the nation’s top companies calling Illinois home, the state has more Fortune 500 companies that any other state in the Midwest. This number is the highest number of Fortune 500 companies in Illinois since 2001.

Several of Illinois’ companies that rank in this top tier include State Farm Insurance, Boeing, Kraft Heinz, and McDonalds. Illinois’ highest ranked company is Walgreens Boots Alliance which is ranked 16th. Companies are ranked based on revenue brought in over the last year.

The full 2021 report of Illinois based Fortune 500 companies can be found on the Fortune website.