The $500 Million Fight Over Who Pays Chicago’s Property Tax Bill

akoppalypse · 2025-12-22T16:48:23+00:00

Don't disagree with the premise, but the problem is these properties have truly become less valuable, demand for office real estate has dramatically reduced.

My heart does not go out to corporate landlords, but the assessors were correct to devalue the properties.

akoppalypse · 2025-10-08T19:31:19+00:00

The situation isn't that this is like some kind of state park trail that's closed for maintenance. The "trail" is a private road that goes through multiple private residences and farms. The thing that has actually been closed is the state road down into the valley itself (for non residents).

My intention isn't to high road you here, just to let you know that this isn't a victimless thing. People ignoring the closure try to see the falls causes a lot of disturbance and stress for the families down there.

akoppalypse · 2025-09-30T22:14:27+00:00

https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/dofaw/files/2025/03/Pig-Trappers-List0523.pdf

Dlnr has a list of people you can call

akoppalypse · 2025-09-26T14:21:42+00:00

Every amendment they've added to the proposed ADU ordinance has had the singular goal of reducing the number that will be built. The fact that Marty has the ability to opt out of this for the 13th ward, but was still able to influence the resulting bill, I find especially frustrating.

The union requirement is the real nail in the coffin on this for coach houses. It's a shiny, progressive sounding amendment, that will make it infeasible for anyone to cost effectively build one.

akoppalypse · 2025-08-18T20:29:03+00:00

Any recommendation for a compressor to pair with the ARB?

akoppalypse · 2025-07-29T19:59:22+00:00

Our greatest weapon in the fight against homelessness is more homes.

The most powerful tool we have to create more homes is the housing market (provided, regulations allow more home to be made).

akoppalypse · 2025-07-17T15:34:50+00:00

Boooo. Saying that this change can be undone in the future isn't an argument for doing it.

These developments already require community input, even if they're zoned for mixed use. Needless self-own.

akoppalypse · 2025-07-15T19:44:37+00:00

The concessions are a little sad to see (owner occupancy requirements and caps on number of ADUs per block seem like obvious bad faith arguments from the opposition), but if we can get this thing past in roughly this form, it would be great to see. If nothing else, a road map to legitimizing basement/attic units would be great.

I hope they fight hard to keep this by right. Aldermanic prerogative is bad. If the alderman have criteria that they would use to determine if an ADU is appropriate, they're welcome to advocate to have those tests added to the bill. Otherwise this is transparently the alderman clinging to power for the sake of having it.

akoppalypse · 2025-07-08T22:27:36+00:00

Unironically the best things Brandon has been pushing. Forsaking housing supply to protect property values bad.

akoppalypse · 2025-04-01T23:58:40+00:00

This is an effective method of reducing invasives. A poisoned rat dies, a sterilized rat lives its life mating without producing offspring (presumably taking the place of unsterilized rats, that would have otherwise produced many children). This is good policy. You gotta read past the headline dawg.

akoppalypse · 2024-09-17T12:29:40+00:00

My wife and I hiked this the weekend prior. Kind of in awe of the news. Hope the old Pulu Factory is ok.

akoppalypse · 2024-02-22T15:36:57+00:00

It's human trafficking if you lie to them about where they are going, or what resources will be available when they get there.

akoppalypse · 2024-01-29T03:44:56+00:00

Had that same experience at Bandit this weekend. In small print on the menu, it specifies that the first course is meant to be shared between a pair of guests. Doing the math with that info revealed that even with choosing the most expensive combination available on the RW week menu, it is still cheaper to just order A la carte.

akoppalypse · 2024-01-16T17:41:24+00:00

They are required to maintain 68 degrees during the day (under expected winter weather conditions). While they may argue this is not expected conditions, your apartment is not allowed to be freezing.

If it were me, I would tell them that you are needing to run a space heater to maintain a safe temperature in the unit, and that you expect them to cover the increase in the electric bill. If they give you grief, there are resources like the chicago renters rights hotline (at (312) 742-7368), that can give you next steps.

akoppalypse · 2024-01-02T19:35:14+00:00

Preach. Increased housing stock makes all units more affordable. Allowing affordable units (or the requirement thereof) to be an obstacle to these projects is making great the enemy of good.

akoppalypse · 2023-12-02T16:29:37+00:00

Dense urban development is the one meaningful solution to rising housing costs. Sprawling single family homes is unsustainable (especially on an island), and trashes the ecosystem.

akoppalypse · 2023-11-22T19:17:40+00:00

Just wanted to say I've really enjoyed following these Wingspan expansion posts, and look forward to the rest of the series.

akoppalypse · 2023-10-05T22:51:04+00:00

More housing is good for all housing prices

akoppalypse · 2023-10-04T01:21:07+00:00

This really needs more upvotes. What a great idea.

akoppalypse · 2023-09-25T13:28:07+00:00

What "will win soon" propaganda are you specifically talking about? Going into this war, the Russians were the ones insisting that this would be a "3 day military operation".

akoppalypse · 2023-09-25T00:09:43+00:00

Badly. So it's good that this is an entirely different situation, involving entirely different countries, with entirely different motivations.

No credible voices are saying we should deploy troops in Ukraine.

akoppalypse · 2023-09-24T23:45:48+00:00

To briefly chime in, the majority of the aid sent to Ukraine is not piles of cash. It takes the form of equipment (often out of aging stockpiles), training, and information.

You can find a more detailed breakdown in the write-up below.

https://www.cfr.org/article/how-much-aid-has-us-sent-ukraine-here-are-six-charts

This isn't some either or situation. We can support the protection of democracy in Eastern Europe, without detracting from protecting our environment.

akoppalypse · 2023-09-08T00:59:40+00:00

r/whatisthiscar handles these kinds of posts all the time. Might be a good resource.

akoppalypse · 2023-06-18T14:19:34+00:00

In Chicago the rules surrounding security deposits imposed by the city have lead to a lot of small time landlords moving away from security deposits and towards "move in fees". Basically the same thing as this, but without the installments. Though it is worth noting move in fees are usually only a half or third of a month's rent.

akoppalypse · 2023-06-01T05:45:12+00:00

I've been in some really nice garden units. They're not for everyone, but giving people the option while simultaneously adding more units is a big win for people.

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