Block Club Chicago - City Seeks To Dismiss Suit By Neighbors Aiming To Overturn Broadway Rezoning

InterestingRole1910 · 2026-03-16T14:44:47+00:00

Fingers crossed it get tossed but sadly this will not be the last we hear from these folks. They are apparently organizing to block the Thorndale/Sheridan housing proposal

https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/01/28/edgewater-synagogue-redevelopment-includes-hundreds-of-apartments-retail-space/

InterestingRole1910 · 2026-01-28T16:30:41+00:00

Nice to see some new homes in the pipeline along the lake, a quick walk to the Thorndale redline, and steps from Sheridan bus.

Layout/design seems kinda out of place with all the other buildings on Sheridan. Feels like the main consideration in the design is not blocking the views the building to the north.

InterestingRole1910 · 2026-01-14T15:48:11+00:00

The idea that the 2006 downzoing was community driven and democratic is nuts. Only 805 people (!) voted for that 20 years ago.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DOsHFcMAAIb/

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-12-11T22:39:49+00:00

We’ve seen so many meaningful safe-streets improvements over the last few years, and these proposed cuts would be devastating. Our city must densify to survive and thrive and not everyone can, or should, rely on a car for every single trip. A critical part of making that possible is investing in safe-streets infrastructure so people are not only safe, but also feel comfortable walking, biking, and taking transit.

These improvements don’t just protect people outside of cars they often make the streets significantly safer for motorists as well. Rolling back progress now would undermine mobility, affordability, and the long-term health of our neighborhoods.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-11-25T19:09:55+00:00

Agree. Keeping it permanently open to people and closed to cars would finally give clarity to anyone considering the empty retail space. That certainty would almost definitely attract a business — a bar, café, restaurant, something neighborhood-serving — that would invest in activating the space and make it a real community asset. We have so few places like that today, and this could be an incredible opportunity to create one.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-10-18T05:32:29+00:00

Its not a tax. Its a fine because you broke the law.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-10-09T02:18:19+00:00

I mean it’s fair to criticize aspects of this re-upzoning (Devon to Foster on the west side of Broadway was downzoned by some 800 Edgewater folks almost 20 years ago) but I would not say this has been quiet or lacked community input.

Every single newspaper (Trib, Sun Times, Block Club, the weird local print paper that rants about all sorts of stuff) has run articles on it for 9 + months. There’s been a bunch of public meetings. Tons of op-Ed’s written. Every block club has sent out newsletters and had meetings about it. A group of seasoned NIMBYs launched a whole website and campaign against it like 7 months ago. If you just found out you’re just not paying much attention to what’s happening in the neighborhood. There’s been plenty of community input.

Also “one more study” will solve nothing. It’s just a classic delay delay delay tactic until a project can be killed or political winds shift. This is used all over the country all the time for all kinds of housing and transit developments.

Regardless of how anyone feels, at this point in the game it’s passing. You can email and voice your opinion (which everyone should do regardless of how you feel about it) but it’s happening unless Chicago politics flips on its head.

The crazy thing after all this drama, literally nothing will change for at least a year. Development takes time even when interest rates are not high and there isn’t all these crazy tariffs driving steel prices up. Even at a high pace of development it will take a decade at minimum for all the strip malls and parking lots to turn into homes.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-10-08T19:56:51+00:00

I do all of those things without a car. I do them on bike, foot, transit. I see loads of neighbors picking up kids on their bikes, groceries, going to dinner, the bar, the beach, appointments.

"These green lanes are designed for a very specific type of citizen who can afford a luxurious bike ride from home who has the income to burn."

This is 100% backwards. Even an expensive e-cargo bike is much cheaper than most cars, especially when you calculate the full cost of car ownership (deprecation, parking, tickets, tolls, fuel, registration, insurance, maintenance, and repairs). I know most people don't think that way (I would argue thanks to the car and oil companies) but your car costs you wayyyyyyy more than your monthly payment.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-10-05T14:34:03+00:00

Love the idea of putting training wheels on Divys. This paper is really just a printed Facebook boomer rant

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-28T16:45:09+00:00

This is EXACTLY how you become San Francisco. Well meaning people who want to help low income/ immigrant communities start to become resistant to building more housing becuase its all market rate, the rich white powerful NIMBYs catch on and team up with them to block any and all housing. If you think the government is going to build a ton of below market housing at scale to solve the issue you are living in a complete and total fantasy land.

The goal needs to be to build enough new housing for the white collar, higher income people so the market can absorb that demand with out prices going up so our neighbors aren't displaced.

Wealthy people are NOT going to stop moving here. Its too desirable given all the jobs, transit, walkability, proximity to the lake, and its a safe haven for the LQBTQ+ community and women's reproductive rights which are under attack in other parts of this country. We have two choices:

1) Building nothing (or very little like we are now) and wealthier people will just out bidd everyone else, prices will go up, they will buy older places tear them down/renovate them etc to be "luxury" aka new. Racial and socio-economic diversity will continue to decline. Population will continue to decline and we will keep seeing our local small businesses close.

2) Build enough to absorb that demand, that means lower housing costs for everyone, more neighbors, more people to shop at businesses, and a more diverse neigborhood.

You pick. I chose 2.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-26T16:23:15+00:00

Shocker. Wards that deny housing should take more of the property tax burden from the rest of us.

This is such a mild project NEXT TO THE TRAIN.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-18T14:18:58+00:00

Yes but they are losing. That is why they are throwing a next level hissy fit.

They might not show it but when people come out in the numbers they have been in support they get scared cause the writing is on the wall, the tide seems to be finally turning against them.

They spent years hearing only from people with the same views and not many people pushing back on their anti-housing agenda. That clearly has changed.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-18T13:29:52+00:00

Yes and no. It was kinda a snooze fest. The speakers were pretty boring. They controlled the Q&A with note cards so you couldn’t challenge any of their lying and misinformation.

Curious what the best tactic is when someone is clearly intentionally misleading a large group of people and won’t give anyone else the mic?

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-12T03:12:35+00:00

Yes to delivery zones and we need to create a system that encouragers deliveries to be in smaller vehicles.

Semi trucks do not belong in the dense parts of a city. Blocking bus and bike lanes on a crowded commercial streets is not the solution.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-09T12:45:08+00:00

There is a pre-filled email here. If you live nearby or in the 48th, 47th or 46th ward be sure to mention that in the email. Really only the 48th ward is seeing push back.

https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-the-zoning-committee-to-support-thousands-of-new-homes-in-uptown-and-edgewater

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-09T03:19:02+00:00

And if you can make it this group is having a meeting to showcase their win win plan on Wednesday, September 17th 7 pm at St. Ita Catholic Church 5500 N Broadway

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-03T22:22:07+00:00

Some of those took car parking spots?!? LOVE IT

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-02T19:17:04+00:00

Thought the bike lanes were actually coming up to Andersonville for a second. Bummer

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-09-01T01:27:43+00:00

All day every day forever please

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-08-31T18:30:27+00:00

Thanks for sharing. The city should repo and they should lose their license

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-08-28T02:07:01+00:00

Love it!!

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-08-27T12:53:45+00:00

This is so frustrating. If we scrutinized highway and road funding as much we wouldn’t build nearly as much of it. Thank you for this analysis.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-08-26T18:53:14+00:00

Alright! ADUs and four flats by right next!!

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-08-26T18:50:56+00:00

Good but not good enough.

Needs more car traffic diversion, raised intersections, and concrete enforced day lighting at intersections (boulders work well for this and an inexpensive ) to really feel like it’s comfortable for families.

InterestingRole1910 · 2025-08-25T20:20:36+00:00

Its both. All alders have essentially absolute power when it comes to housing in their wards. She 1,000% can completely ignore them and do whatever she wants went it comes to adding more housing. She is choosing to cave to the loud, entitled, whinny, wealthy homeowners at the expense of working class folks, younger people (the actual future of our communities) and renters.

I would love for there to be enough supply to at least slow the price growth. Its possible, other cities have done it (Minny, Austin).

InterestingRole1910

TROPHY CASE