I would guess that most teachers have no idea how powerful they are on Wall Street. State teacher pension funds are among the largest institutional investors in the world. Asset management firms will bend over backwards to keep them happy. Use that power!

Secondary mortgage spreads are down a massive 20bps+ on the week, with most of that move happening this morning. What's happening? The mortgage market is undergoing a structural repricing following the directive for Fannie & Freddie to deploy $200B into MBS. Let's dig in a bit in the 🧵 #EconSky

IMPORTANT DETAIL HERE: garbage fees are essentially a wealth transfer from apartment residents to homeowners! If you live in an apartment building with 5+ units, you have to pay full price for a private service, and you ALSO SUBSIDIZE 82% OF THE COST of garbage pickup for SFHs + 2-4 unit buildings!

Page One. @chicago.suntimes.com #ICE @newsjennifer.bsky.social

Housing moving forward! 💪 “Overwhelming positive feedback” 👀 (We posted about this back in September)

It’s witness slip time! 🚨 Transit funding bill SB2111 has been assigned to committee and we need folks to file witness slips as PROPONENT immediately! The attached graphic provides guidance for submitting a slip. mbl.ms/mKgZnW7m-BQ

thank you to so many who engaged in this community driven process! Our transit rich wards are some of the most diverse in Chi across race, class, LGBTQ+; Broadway land use means more opportunities for small biz & affordable housing opportunities near the red line. Now, let’s build better together!

Rezoning: just one tool to make communities more affordable, vibrant & safe. We need investments throughout the entire landscape: $$ CTA, protecting SROs & NOAH, ADU reform, a culture for multimodal city living with accessible social supports to live with dignity blockclubchicago.org/2025/09/18/b...

My latest for @bloomberg.com Citylab: Parking reform might be the rare issue that Chicagoans can agree on www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

At the risk of getting yelled at, this is part of why I keep saying blue state NIMBYism is a travesty for democracy. When we make it so that low-income immigrants, LGBTQ people and pregnant people can't afford to live where they want, think about what they end up being subject to.

Tell the 1st Ward that you support *at least* 50 new homes (and fewer parking spots) on the vacant lot located at 2240 N. Milwaukee! docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Just walked out of this 2.5 hour meeting with two of my offline roommates, and they’ve totally been radicalized by the NONSENSE that happened during public comment. Requiring neighborhood approval for housing is a nightmare. We shouldn’t expect normal people to spend their evenings this way.

We need your help to get two abundant housing bills over the finish line! Send an email to your State Representative today. 🏘️ actionnetwork.org/letters/tell...

This coach house was built in 2023 by the couple who own the property to have a place for their mother in law to live in and help take care of their newborn child. The “granny flat” is real.

Given clarifications from the Administration about the China tariffs, @budgetlab.bsky.social has updated its estimates to reflect a 145% maximum China rate from 2025 policy versus the 125% we assumed before. The report link is the same. Some key takeaways... 1/7

8 THOUGHT ON ONE OF THE CRAZIEST DAYS EVER From the newsletter. Subscribe here. www.bloomberg.com/account/news...

This afternoon, the IL House’s Housing Committee moved forward bills that would legalize ADUs statewide and missing middle housing statewide! 🏘️ 🥳 Abundant Housing IL endorsed both of these bills, and our members sent over 1,500 letters of support to Chair Jimenez and Speaker Welch #HB1813 #HB1814

🚨 HOUSING ALERT 🚨 Today, the IL House's Housing Committee didn't give our ADU and Missing Middle bills a hearing 😱 If they aren't given a hearing before Friday, these bills could be dead for the year 😨 Tell Chair Jimenez and Speaker Welch to advance these bills! actionnetwork.org/letters/we-n...

Here’s a frustrating one a 5 min walk from the L in Logan Square. A developer bought two empty lots and wanted to build a 6 unit building but Waguespack downzoned to RS-3. The result? Two $1.9 million SFHs. blockclubchicago.org/2024/01/02/f...

if just about every one-story Walgreens store in Chicago was redeveloped as housing, the zoning map is set up to allow thousands of new homes find my estimated quantity in this quick & dirty analysis: www.stevencanplan.com/2025/03/rede...

Thank you @abundanthousingil.bsky.social for bringing us together. Your volunteers rock! 🎸

Going to a plan commission meeting to support new housing last week felt way better than I expected it to feel. The other added benefit of getting involved locally is making new friends that share your passions!

Will Loux just gave a public comment outling how the community input process for development is unfair, because people like him who want to be a good dad and spend time with his family don't have time to go to the 10+ meetings to approve one development Get the alders out of their bubbles!

one thing that @abundanthousingil.bsky.social members do to support the need for more housing in Chicago and across the state is write letters to the editor, like what @danielcomeaux.bsky.social did today. chicago.suntimes.com/letters-to-t...

Wall Street on tariff policy:

This post gives excellent context on the history and financial challenges of the two-flat in Chicago, and I think pairs well with my discussions of deconversions and neighborhood dynamics. You should give it a read, but I'll highlight a few takeaways here charliecohen.substack.com/p/the-death-...

A great follow up on his Logan Square piece on different points along the gentrification curve. My anecdotal experience of living in Logan Square confirms that we are at the early stages of huge demand from families in Logan Square. My street has added several children over the last year.

These two new construction SFHs in Logan Square just sold for $1.9 million without being officially listed. More proof that demand remains very strong in Logan Square despite much higher rates.

Multifamily starts for October 2024 came in lower than any October in 12 years. Year-to-date, completions are outpacing starts by 218,500 units -- a massive deficit pointing to significantly reduced apartment supply by 2026.

A YIMBY win in Logan Square: Project Logan near Fullerton and Sacramento appears to be nearly complete. 56 two bed units (11 affordable) replace a vacant building used by graffiti artists. One coolest aspects of this project is the developer setting up space for graffiti artists.