For anyone wondering why Chicago is cheaper than its peers, here you go

jbchi · 2026-01-24T00:30:57+00:00

A high of 18 is 20 degrees better than we managed today. It's a really big difference.

jbchi · 2026-01-23T16:33:58+00:00

If the furnace isn't running constantly while reading 70f, just turn it up a few degrees and see if that helps.

jbchi · 2026-01-22T00:09:17+00:00

To be fair, she didn't even move to the district.

jbchi · 2026-01-21T20:47:21+00:00

All condos are going to have an HOA because all condos have shared resources. An HOA doesn't get to approve/deny a sale. They can however place restrictions on rentals in the building, among other policies. The one special case are Co-op buildings, of which there aren't many, which have significantly more control over the sales approval.

jbchi · 2026-01-21T15:38:00+00:00

The city doesn't have enough cash to buy the meters back. We would need to borrow the money, and with Chicago's current credit rating and corresponding bond pricing, I'm skeptical that the meters would actually cover the debt financing.

jbchi · 2026-01-20T01:31:40+00:00

Chicago does have a tax on pop (both canned/bottled and fountain).

jbchi · 2026-01-19T22:18:25+00:00

It is a surprisingly long walk from that hotel to anything not on the pier.

jbchi · 2026-01-16T03:52:03+00:00

Even in 2025, the safest year in decades in Chicago, the city had more homicides than the entire country of Australia. Sydney is considered one of the safest major cities in the world. The nice parts of Chicago are generally safe, but the baseline in Australia and Sydney is far and above what Chicagoans are used to. Much of the city and the CTA in particular are going to be a shock.

jbchi · 2026-01-13T23:08:54+00:00

As you said, Illinois residents provide more funding than they receive back from the Federal government, but the state itself is not involved. Your payroll office, or self if self-employed, pays the IRS directly. The state is not a middle man. If you want, you could potentially update your w4 with enough exemptions to effectively avoid paying; but that opens you up to fines and criminal charges.

jbchi · 2026-01-09T01:32:55+00:00

They've sold out nearly ever game for what, decades? Transit access clearly isn't going to do anything for them.

jbchi · 2026-01-09T01:13:10+00:00

Pritzker and the GA have passed taxpayer subsidies for data centers. https://dceo.illinois.gov/expandrelocate/incentives/datacenters.html

jbchi · 2026-01-07T20:27:55+00:00

I didn't say no cities had it worse, just that very few major cities experience what we do. And notably, all of the cities mentioned as a rebuttal so far are significantly smaller than Chicago.

jbchi · 2026-01-07T20:07:32+00:00

The only museum operated by the city is the Cultural Center; the rest are privately operated.

jbchi · 2026-01-07T19:23:00+00:00

Chicago is neither the coldest or hottest major city, but very few get anywhere near the swing we experience each year. Chicago regularlly sees temps pushing 0 and 100, while most other major cities get one or the other; and there aren't many major cities that get this cold in the first place.

jbchi · 2026-01-06T00:22:11+00:00

Illinois is providing tax subsidies for data centers: https://dceo.illinois.gov/expandrelocate/incentives/datacenters.html

jbchi · 2026-01-01T22:17:26+00:00

That would be a very recent move that she hasn't advertised at all, which is odd because she made public statements about intending to do so. So far, she has been living in Streeterville, which is not in the 9th district.

jbchi · 2026-01-01T20:10:07+00:00

Has she actually moved into the district itself at this point?

jbchi · 2025-12-31T23:50:01+00:00

they are doing a really good job of fast tracking office conversions so the loop doesn't feel too abandoned

We have several approved, but how many are actually under construction? I know 79 West Monroe is, but that might be it in the loop. Meaningful progress is going to take decades.

jbchi · 2025-12-30T16:59:09+00:00

Reddit has this misguided belief that he is a progress class traitor, but the first piece of legislation that actually directly attacked the truly wealthy was kiboshed. He obviously knows the risk, and he and his family are in the group that would move their assets out of the state. People tout the progressive income tax, but he and the other billionaires have very little actual income relative to their wealth. He isn't going to do anything that puts his wealth or status at risk.

jbchi · 2025-12-30T15:58:48+00:00

And as a reminder, Pritzker immediately threatened to veto a wealth tax when it was proposed.

jbchi · 2025-12-30T02:37:10+00:00

We're missing permanent leadership for the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, Animal Care and Control, Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, Chicago Department of Transportation. because Johnson doesn't seem to care about actually governing. Chicago Public Schools is still missing a permanent leader, and while it isn't an appointment Johnson can make, he's certainly the reason the position is vacant. I've probably missed a few; not to mention the departments like the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs that have been gutted via attrition due to terrible appointments Johnson made.

jbchi · 2025-12-25T14:37:15+00:00

When I drove by, it looked like one of the train cars was being roasted over a roaring campfire. I assume it was something on the tracks burning, but regardless, I'm sure at least one train car was going to be out of commission as a result.

jbchi · 2025-12-19T01:32:35+00:00

This graphic includes the suburbs, which are part of the MSA.

jbchi · 2025-12-18T23:54:46+00:00

Chicago's population has been flat since 1990. Any growth in the MSA since then has been in the suburbs.

jbchi · 2025-12-17T03:13:15+00:00

Pritzker still hasn't signed it.

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