Municipal Corporation

New to me. I saw the 8 - Halsted short turning at Root street (before the detour begins) during rush hour

Bus signage findings/recommendations from a CTA riders survey

Is Bridget Gainer even campaigning to keep her seat? Yes she's on the ballot but haven't heard anything from her (just like she does with her current seat)

He was good two weeks ago on the Sibelius and Strauss

Cycling advocates: The mayor endorsed us. Now he advocates against us. In 2023, Mayor Brandon Johnson endorsed our bike grid plan. Now, he advocates against us and our right to safe infrastructure.

New from us! Mayor Brandon Johnson endorsed us in 2023, now he is against our safety. The City of Chicago opposes HB2454, a bill that would make bicyclists intended users of all roads only on a disconnected network of streets rather than all streets.
www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/06/o...

If you see this guy at a community meeting you know your bullshit is about to be put to pasture.

@starlinechicago.bsky.social

First night of the residency and they are tight and full of energy + the Aragon is a good sounding venue per usual

I would go to the LCD Soundsystem concert again just for the lighting design

Did you get in? Line was still way out the door at 6:30

Truly. My guy loves to talk the talk and doesn't even utilize his protective for good beyond the western upzoning. Just him, his million dollar home, and an elusive "zoning advisory council" that is hand selected and FOIA exempt.

...all I got was an "interesting data" to which they've done nothing about. The post below is what this is about. @aldermanmattmartin.bsky.social hosted a whole affordability forum in early 2025 and has proceeded to do nothing tmk about it since ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ bsky.app/profile/nikh...

Direct example of why I'm getting priced out. That empty lot in pic 2 was dilapidated; a teardown that they paid $1.4M for. Can be justified because the new homes go for $3.5M+. Over a year ago, I sent deconversion data to my alder asking to lock in MFH zoning and... bsky.app/profile/nikh...

The same private equity company has been buying up nearly ever home in my neighborhood and building massive 5+ bed, 5+ bath single-family homes. In the past three months, they've controlled three properties within a 1/8mi radius. In two years, they've developed at least 10 of these in a 1/2mi² area

And a +150k increase YoY. Unclear how that happens and how an estimate from a prior year can be so off

Another concrete heavy project + the way they do pavers (not prefab) are expensive. It may be actual expenses but this is not a new program (started w/ M. Daley) so I wouldn't place great significance on that one factor

CDOT appears to have a concrete obsession which is not helping costs. I'd also be fine with more asphalt (more forgiving on falls) They use so much on each project and insist on ripping up old concrete that is in okay (maybe not stellar) condition without adding any street furniture, greenery

CDOT is able to provide ranges for other types, even if 70k apart. I doubt they're under 400k/half-mile. I can't say this definitely, but since CDOT outsources the concrete barrier design (which it keeps redesigning) and manufacturing (and purchases a set amount), likely more expensive than needed.

I'm particularly dismayed by the rapid increase in protected bike lane costs. Worth noting that the design has changed (and improved) since 2020, but $400,000 per half mile is a hard sell, esp when alders only have $1.5M and painted bike lanes are 80% less. In 2026, CDOT stopped listing PBL costs.

I started tracking the cost escalation of menu funds since 2020 as some infrastructure options are becoming prohibitively expensive. I've listed prices and overlaid conditional formatting that tracks the rate of change. In general, large concrete projects have increased while asphalt remains level.

Revisiting ONE Central One megaproject deserves another.

Could thru-running regional rail salvage the ONE Central transit center? (Bob Dunn, if you’re on BlueSky, my DMs are open)

agree. tbf they have been getting better at this in the past year compared to the end of dorval carter era where almost all were vacant

Denali has also discussed from her perspective what type of intervention may be more appropriate (it's not cops) bsky.app/profile/dena...

The Center Square: Violence Interrupters, local activists lead CTA safety push

The big gap I saw in this argument is dissecting the role of community policing, a recent addition by Violence Interrupters. This is a different style group than Haymarket or Thresholds that addresses more code of conduct/courtesy than support services www.violenceinterrupters.org/the-center-s...

Hard to take an article seriously when it starts by referring to people as "mentally ill."

I'm a simple man, I like when the trains beep at each other

Skill issue that I didn't take the earlier red line train and just divvy the last two miles

Systemic failure that every brown line train out of the loop after 10p runs at least 15% slower than rush hour service

Since Chicagoland transit is getting $1.2B we need to stop with the full train car wraps that only earn us a fraction of the $30M advertising revenue

This happens every year