Ditto to Buddy, Atlas Stationers, and the whole Monadnock first floor (fancy hats, clothes, shoes, perfume/florist, and get a drink/snack at the bistro!)

It's Mother Earth punishing every non-profit and community group for performing redundant, virtue-signaling park clean-ups on one day per year and never returning for anything more useful.

I agree. Most folks don't "use" a front yard anyway, all they want/need is some greenery to look at and pass through. This is an efficient use of space! (No comment on the driveway picture)

As a South Shore (but not 7th ward) resident, "substantial societal issue" is precisely how I would describe it.

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi lost big where property taxes in city, suburbs soared Last year, Chicago's median residential tax bill in the city rose 16.7%, to $4,457, the largest percentage increase in at least 30 years. In the 24th Ward, where bills skyrocketed the most — the media...

How much did Cook County homeowners' frustration about rising property taxes show in Tuesday’s race for Cook County assessor?

Who is to blame for skyrocketing property taxes?

Will Hynes suffer the same fate?

Let's dig into the answers (though I fear the headline gives away the first one)

🧵/12

My final comment is that I rarely see similar conversation around areas on the north side with 5-figure monthly assessments as the norm, where it is more likely to be a result of exclusionary policy than basic budgeting.

I'm preaching to the choir but I feel like the conversation around assessments is skewed online (present company not included 🙂), like high HOAs are inherently a waste of money. They are if they pay for stuff you don't want!

It's rare for buildings to be hoarding/embezzling. I tell people that HOAs are a reflection of financial philosophy & you should live somewhere that aligns w/ you. Low assessments generally = lower reserves (or deferred maintenance) & possibility of specials. Higher = more services &/or savings.

My house is bigger than this (not by *that* much), but my heat bill alone is like 1/4 of these assessments for several months of the year. 😂 Plus I have to pay my taxes & fix my own roof! And I don't have a doorman!

Yep. "The monthly assessment includes taxes, heat, water, gas, TV/cable, 24-hour doorman, exercise room, a bike room, and a party room." And a big building w/ healthy reserves. It isn't everyone's budget but it's not a rip-off. The bigger issue with this unit is def. the weird layout & no views.

Because co-ops are a small portion of Chicago real estate, there isn't a good way on our MLS to distinguish between monthlies for them vs. condos, & a lot of misunderstanding ensues. But 99.9% of the time, if a listing says it's a co-op, taxes are in the HOA assessment.

Yes property taxes are included in the monthlies for co-ops. Once you do that math, they are often comparable to a condo. Most of what makes buildings like this (both co-op & condo) more expensive is door staff & elevators. Which many people are happy to pay for.

A room with a spiral staircase leading up through the ceiling, and the walls are completely lined with empty wooden bookshelves.

I'm also very curious about the roof. The high fence visible on the outside indicates that it was in use, presumably accessed via this spiral staircase from the library (?).

A room with plywood flooring, a large mirror, stairs leading up, an open door to an unfinished garage space, and what looks like a trapeze on the ceiling.

This building is on the alley, not the street, and was almost certainly built as a garage + driver housing for the multi-unit in in front of it. This picture caught my eye because of the (very large) attached garage space. Unusual & potentially very useful for the right person. Also.....a trapeze?

Indeed, I practically sprained my thumbs sending this to every Hyde Park & real estate nerd group text I'm in the second it popped up in my search results yesterday. The backstory is Really Something therealdeal.com/chicago/2022...

Chicago real estate scammer, former lawyer allege ‘foreclosure theft’ against big banks Facing foreclosure, a convicted Chicago real estate scammer’s former lawyer wants to hold onto properties he got from the client as payment.

The backstory is everything you think it might be: therealdeal.com/chicago/2022...

Yes!!!!

Praying for this one. The criminally capricious permitting process in Chicago causes higher prices & interminable timelines for permitted rehab projects, & essentially forces smaller developers to skip permits altogether, which means more unsafe & poor quality housing. bsky.app/profile/stev...

Illinois Gov. Pritzker budget address, Feb. 18, 2026 - housing speech Illinois Gov. Pritzker gave an annual budget address in Springfield on Wednesday, February 18, 2026. He talked about the high cost of living, including for housing…

"Removing barriers for home builders will attract responsible developers to build in places they've been unwilling to build before." I would amend this slightly to say "unable" instead of unwilling. vimeo.com/1166100777

Exciting stuff 🤞Some of this could be transformational in the quantity & quality of old home renovation/rehab, which is a critical form of home building/creation along with new construction. Time to put the "affordable" and "natural" back in Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing.

Actually, on second look that url redirects to the Flickr album. Can't tell if they are the victim or the perpetrator.

It even made up a watermark for an asbestos-interest website url (also made up)!

ZBA approves variations for development at 3651 N. Wilton The Zoning Board of Appeals has approved variations for a residential development at 3651 N. Wilton. Planned by 3651 N. Wilton LLC, the project site is an infill site near the intersection of N. Wilto...

Saving the woodwork in place would probably only be feasible if they were keeping (or lowering) the unit count. At least they are turning 3 homes into 15. With reduced parking! chicago.urbanize.city/post/zba-app...

The Everlasting Meal Cookbook: Leftovers A-Z Leftovers A-Z

I've probably already told you about this (I never shut up) but this cookbook is a life changer for those of us who love leftovers: bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

Wow. I can't tell if this is the most misogynist thing I've ever seen or a dark satire of the most misogynist thing I've ever seen. Probably the former?

What’s That Building? Narrow Bridge Arts Club Built as a synagogue and later housing a series of Christian congregations, this structure now serves as part single-family home, part makerspace and artists club.

This is a fantastic piece about one of the coolest properties (and people!) I've worked with. Listen to the audio for more of Amber's wisdom on low-waste building reuse as both art practice & environmental proving ground. 🧠🤌 www.wbez.org/architecture...

Listing says multiple offers received so it will (almost certainly) sell for more than that. Real estate killjoy at your service. 🫡

To be fair, if it really does need to be taken down to a shell inside, the rehab will easily cost $500k. But in that case $75k would be way too much for an ARV of $300k...

Sorry 😅

6418 S Greenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 | Compass 6418 S Greenwood Ave, Chicago, IL 60637 is a single family home not currently listed. This is a 4-bed, 4-bath property and last sold on 2025-05-30 for $600,000.

This is just one random selection. Farther south and west because there basically hasn't been *anything* for sale north of 63rd and east of Woodlawn in ages. www.compass.com/listing/1790...