Vacancies in downtown Chicago have shot up, with office buildings losing value and facing higher property tax rates than many other cities, according to the association. In 2022, Chicago’s commercial property tax rate ranked the highest among the largest cities in each state, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy report.

In Brighton Park, some residents learned about the planned encampment as heavy machinery rolled onto the 10-acre site. In the days since, they have protested, posted angry social media messages and packed an informational meeting in a high school auditorium, where some applauded city officials and others heckled them.

Once the Council approves the mayor’s budget, attention will turn to the urgent search for additional revenue — a task the mayor has punted to a subcommittee led by freshman Ald. William Hall. Budget Director Annette Guzman expects the options presented by that subcommittee to include broadening the sales tax umbrella to cover a host of professional services favored by the wealthy and business interests. The idea has been talked about for decades, only to hit a dead end in Springfield.

“Whenever there are individuals asking, what are we doing for Black people? Well, they don’t

“But all of this requires Johnson to talk reality to the people of Chicago, either through the media, which he apparently hates to do, or directly through some kind of major address. And it requires him to answer reasonable questions. This is the job he was elected to do. Further, Johnson still needs to use whatever influence he has to get the state, the feds and, yes, the county more involved. After all, temporary medical facilities were stood up fast in Chicago during the COVID crisis.”

The median residential bill went up 7.2%. But the highest increases were in the north and northwest suburbs, where property tax bills increased by 15.7%, the largest increase by percentage in 30 years. In Hanover Park, the median residential property tax bill went up by almost 19%. In North Lake, a western Chicago suburb, the median residential bill increased by 27%.

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge from Chicago drivers over hourly meter rates for public parking in the city, in a case that sought to void Chicago’s 75-year, $1.15 billion contract with a private equity firm managing the system.

As Chicago’s downtown business district struggles under a post-pandemic malaise, President Joe Biden announced a slate of federal resources this week for developers and cities to speed up commercial-to-residential conversions. The White House initiative will open up funding from the Department of Transportation to finance residential development near public transit and facilitate transit agencies’ ability to transfer their properties to local governments or developers of affordable housing, according to a release.

For the fourth month in a row, home prices grew faster in Chicago than in any other major U.S. city, according to a national index of August home prices. In August, home prices in the Chicago area were up 5% from the same time a year earlier. While it’s more evidence of the Chicago housing market’s resilience during the recent nationwide slowdown under the weight of rising interest rates, there’s also data in the report that shows Chicago-area home values lag well behind most big cities in

Terrence Slaughter, 55, was arrested at Midway Oct.r 24, the 16th anniversary of the day a federal judge sentenced him to 15.67 years for stealing guns from a retired cop and intentionally selling them to gang members, according to court records.

Officers say the shooting happened just before 4 p.m. on Monday. The teen was a student at the nearby Chicago Vocational High School.

Ald. Brendan Reilly initially said the Dearborn Street property could have housed up to 1,000 migrants and was concerned because the portion of State Street proximate to the Hotel Chicago has been on the Chicago Police Department’s “Drug & Gang Hotspot List” for years and is near what he called a “problematic” Red Line “L” stop, in addition to the temporary Bally’s casino.

“The last thing we need to do is discourage risk-taking and entrepreneurship on the South and West sides. And existing businesses in those neighborhoods, which struggle to pass higher costs onto their customers, don’t need yet another reason to throw in the towel.”

“The viability of downtown will depend on the city’s ability to convert some of LaSalle Street’s historic commercial buildings into residential units. It’s an expensive gambit, and downtown alderpersons this month have questioned Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ability to subsidize the plan, given his administration wants to help balance the city budget by using the millions from the same tax increment finance pot that have been promised to assist the LaSalle Street redevelopment.”

Assistance efforts have been hampered by poor intergovernmental communication, a lack of Spanish-speaking staff, not enough funding and overburdened volunteers. Overcrowded police stations have forced some migrants to shelter in tents outside. Volunteers have blasted City Hall’s controversial plan to build winterized tent camps, with alderpeople and neighbors pushing back on efforts to set up those shelters in their areas.

Related Midwest plans to break ground by the end of the year on the first of two residential skyscrapers on the Chicago Spire site, a long-awaited step forward for a project that stands to dramatically change the city’s lakefront skyline. The developer disclosed plans to begin work in 45 days on a 72-story apartment tower at 400 N. Lake Shore Drive.