Richard Day
@rsday.bsky.social
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Richard Day
Steven
4 days ago
housing delayed = housing denied
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Conor's not on Bluesky, but he's got a *really* good Op-Ed in the Tribune today about teacher pensions.
www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/06/o...
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Public policy experts: The hidden inequity in school funding? Illinoisâ teacher pension funding structure
Illinois will never truly achieve equitable school funding unless it fixes teacher pension funding.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/06/opinion-illinois-teacher-pensions-school-funding/
4 days ago
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Richard Day
Daniel Kay Hertz
5 days ago
This is a bold position for a voter guide to take
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Richard Day
Daniel Kay Hertz
8 days ago
God bless a post on reforming EDSs
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Over at A City That Works: A key player on the Mayorâs Cut the Tape Initiative outlines another action the city can take to cut development costs.
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Let's fix Chicago's Economic Disclosure Statements
Here's what "red tape" really means
https://open.substack.com/pub/citythatworks/p/lets-fix-chicagos-economic-disclosure?utm_source=app-post-stats-page&r=bhpu9&utm_medium=ios
8 days ago
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reposted by
Richard Day
Daniel Kay Hertz
10 days ago
The sharp high income-low income border running N-S through Edgewater and Uptown just east of the lake is Broadway. That's the context for the furor over the Broadway rezoning, which has come 90% from the dark blue tracts
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This one will be sure to make everybody happy.
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Democrats can't afford to Darren Bailey this election
Letâs learn a lesson from Illinois Republicans
https://open.substack.com/pub/citythatworks/p/what-happens-when-your-party-gives?r=bhpu9&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
13 days ago
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Richard Day
Daniel Knowles
15 days ago
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Richard Day
Abundant Housing Illinois
15 days ago
Abundant Housing Illinois is excited to endorse Anthony Driver for U.S. Congress in Illinoisâ 7th Congressional District! đď¸
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Richard Day
Abundant Housing Illinois
15 days ago
Abundant Housing Illinois is excited to endorse Daniel Biss for U.S. Congress in Illinoisâ 9th Congressional District! đď¸
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reposted by
Richard Day
Abundant Housing Illinois
15 days ago
Abundant Housing Illinois is excited to endorse Patrick Hanley for the Illinois State Senate in the 9th District! đď¸
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reposted by
Richard Day
Osita Nwanevu
17 days ago
Nonviolence is, in fact, working. This administration is weaker than it was a year ago. More and more of the public is becoming galvanized against it; its agents are being impeded.
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Over at A City That Works: RPM Phase 1 was a good project, and it's great that we could fund it (in part with TIF dollars). Now it's over. The TIF should be too:
citythatworks.substack.com/p/sunset-the...
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Sunset the Red-Purple Modernization TIF
Letâs not throw bad money after good
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/sunset-the-red-purple-modernization
19 days ago
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Over at A City That Works: Why does Chicago spend so much money on police misconduct? Justin Erb breaks down the numbers and legal rationale behind CPD's eyewatering payouts.
citythatworks.substack.com/p/breaking-d...
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Breaking down Chicago's police misconduct payouts
The numbers and legal rationale behind our eyewatering settlements
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/breaking-down-chicagos-police-misconduct
27 days ago
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Richard Day
Star:Line Chicago
30 days ago
Bus absolutely reeks of weed now. Really becoming more and more sympathetic to the entire ânot everyone who skips a fare is anti-social but almost all the anti-social riders skip the fareâ mentality
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In sum: Lots of work, lots of good guest posts, and more impact than we expected. Plus a lot of fun.
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A look back at twelve months of A City That Works
Recapping some highlights
https://open.substack.com/pub/citythatworks/p/a-look-back-at-twelve-months-of-a?r=bhpu9&utm_medium=ios&shareImageVariant=overlay
about 1 month ago
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Strongly recommend bringing a 6 month old to community meetings
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about 2 months ago
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This. And given the budget constraints facing our region today, if we abandon any effort to improve the productivity and efficacy of public services, we are deeply and truly screwed.
add a skeleton here at some point
about 2 months ago
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Richard Day
Star:Line Chicago
about 2 months ago
A terrific article, although I admit I'm a bit surprised at how many people when asked "if you could walk an extra block for a faster, more frequent bus, would you do it?" apparently say "no"
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reposted by
Richard Day
Thomas Bamonte
about 2 months ago
Per new
@nikhunder.com
analysis, increasing bus stop spacing "could translate into speed improvements of 14-29% depending on the route, traffic levels, and how many stops are removed. Thatâs a remarkable increase in speed, at minimal cost to the agency."
citythatworks.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
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A plan for faster buses
We can speed up the bus at (almost) no cost
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/a-plan-for-faster-buses?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=306193&post_id=182278288&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=47j45h&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
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reposted by
Richard Day
Michael McLean
about 2 months ago
Read Nikâs magnum opus Make every bus an âExpressâ bus
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reposted by
Richard Day
Loren Johnson
about 2 months ago
One reason I like this is because spacing out bus stops would allow for more consistently co-located services. Arterial stops could be aligned with Divvy stations, L stations, larger warming shelters, grocery stores, etc.
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reposted by
Richard Day
Municipal Corporation
about 2 months ago
New from me! Chicago has far too many bus stops to provide efficient service for its ridersânearly twice the national standard. I reimagined what Chicago's bus network could do to make it look like its peers.
citythatworks.substack.com/p/a-plan-for...
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A plan for faster buses
We can speed up the bus at (almost) no cost
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/a-plan-for-faster-buses
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reposted by
Richard Day
Alex
about 2 months ago
Bus stop consolidation: $100 Dedicated lanes: $40 Multi-door boarding: $25 Electric Buses: $3,000 Transit Signal priority: $200 More operators: $800 Someone who is good at the economy help me budget this. Iâm stuck in traffic.
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reposted by
Richard Day
Ned Resnikoff
about 2 months ago
One big takeaway from Mamdani bringing YIMBYs into his transition is that advocates can often gain a lot of power by 1.) having useful answers to questions and accurate information 2.) being reasonably polite and pleasant to elected officials 3.) understanding the actual mechanics of government
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Over at A City That Works: In the mid-1990s, violence in New York City cratered, even as Chicago's murder rate remained relatively high. Peter Moskos's new book is a terrific inside look at how New York pulled it off:
citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-revie...
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Book review: Back from the Brink
More lessons from New York
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/book-review-back-from-the-brink
about 2 months ago
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Richard Day
Brian Hanlon
2 months ago
Very upsetting that ACLU is pro-drunk driving. Requiring in-car breathalyzers for people convicted of a DUI is not "a form of racialized wealth extraction." People of all backgrounds are getting killed and maimed by reckless drivers. Let's stop the carnage!
calmatters.org/newsletter/c...
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CA leaders look away as road deaths skyrocket
More and more people are dying on California roads, and millions are getting injured. What are lawmakers doing as vehicle deaths increase?
https://calmatters.org/newsletter/california-vehicle-deaths/
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reposted by
Richard Day
Chicago Cityscape
2 months ago
what's missing in Chicago's budget talks? the short answer is "growing the tax base". Steffany describes what City Council is not addressing in City That Works.
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Budget Talks are Missing One Key Option
Importantly, an option completely in City Councilâs control
https://buff.ly/99wLrNX
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Richard Day
Star:Line Chicago
2 months ago
The good news is that all the BlueSky criticism is just conjecture by amateurs, imagine if there was a monumental station just around the block from State/Lake that was constructed less than a decade ago for a quarter of the cost even inflation-adjusted, wouldnât that be embarrassing for the city
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reposted by
Richard Day
Steven
3 months ago
what I'm reading today... 1. lessons [for Chicago?] from the New York City election, specifically the referenda to update the city charter to make it easier to get new housing approved
citythatworks.substack.com/p/lessons-fr...
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Lessons from New Yorkâs recent housing wins
A path to better housing policy in one of our most expensive cities
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/lessons-from-new-yorks-recent-housing
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reposted by
Richard Day
Thomas Bamonte
3 months ago
Per
@davidstruett.bsky.social
@chicagocta.bsky.social
is purchasing hybrid buses with federal grant money. Should NITA prioritize future capital $$$ on zero emissions vehicles or should other needs take priorityâe.g., BRT, station/bus stop accessibility?
chicago.suntimes.com/transportati...
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CTA to buy up to 150 hybrid buses with $121 million federal grant
The Federal Transit Administration on Thursday announced $1.1 billion in awards through its Low or No Emission Grant Program.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/transportation/2025/11/21/cta-hybrid-bus-federal-grant
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Over at A City That Works, I took a look at what Chicago (and other cities) can learn from New York's effort to speed housing development and weaken aldermanic prerogative.
citythatworks.substack.com/p/lessons-fr...
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Lessons from New Yorkâs recent housing wins
A path to better housing policy in one of our most expensive cities
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/lessons-from-new-yorks-recent-housing
3 months ago
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reposted by
Richard Day
Star:Line Chicago
3 months ago
"CTA keeps using federal funding to pay debt service, which negatively impacts the agency's ability to execute new projects. By the way, we're going to add another $1.5 billion in debt over the next five years, but don't worry, we'll pay it back with federal funding."
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reposted by
Richard Day
Daniel Kay Hertz
3 months ago
To the charge that it doesn't fit in: I don't think it's supposed to. Sometimes we should add new idiosyncratic, monumental buildings/spaces
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Over at A City That Works, Conor's got a great new piece looking at the Mayor's new budget proposal:
citythatworks.substack.com/p/budget-sea...
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Budget Season 2026: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Some thoughts on the first - but certainly not last - draft of next yearâs City Budget.
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/budget-season-2026-the-good-the-bad?r=bhpu9
4 months ago
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Over at A City That Works: Police are far more effective when deployed to the hotspots where violence is most likely to occur. But Chicago's deployments are heavily skewed towards the least-violent parts of the city. (1/4)
citythatworks.substack.com/p/put-police...
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Put police officers where the violence is
The promise of CPDâs workforce allocation study
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/put-police-officers-where-the-violence?r=bhpu9
4 months ago
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And a full blown
@chicagocta.bsky.social
meltdown getting out, sadly.
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4 months ago
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4 months ago
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reposted by
Richard Day
Abundant Housing Illinois
4 months ago
Chicagolandâs transit agencies canât afford to go it alone. Real reform means Metra, Pace, and CTA working together, with unified planning, fares, and goals, to build a system that truly serves the whole region. đ đ đ
citythatworks.substack.com/p/the-suburb...
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The Suburban Case for Transit Reform
Trips donât end at the city limits, so why do our transit agencies?
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/the-suburban-case-for-transit-reform
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Wrote about the Trump administrationâs power grab unfolding in Chicago, and the most effective tools we have to respond.
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Responding to the Trump Administration's assault on Chicago
Donât give a bully the fight he wants
https://open.substack.com/pub/citythatworks/p/how-to-respond-to-the-trump-administrations?utm_source=app-post-stats-page&r=bhpu9&utm_medium=ios
4 months ago
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reposted by
Richard Day
Star:Line Chicago
4 months ago
Humpty Dumpty keeps falling off the wall, and while weâve gotten very efficient at putting him back together each time, itâs time to start thinking about the wall as the real problem. New from me on A City That Works: The Suburban Case for Transit Reform
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The Suburban Case for Transit Reform
Trips donât end at the city limits, so why do our transit agencies?
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/the-suburban-case-for-transit-reform
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reposted by
Richard Day
Michael Andersen
4 months ago
IMO
@zyudhishthu.bsky.social
nails it on mandatory minimum densities: you CAN do them right, but the benefits are so minimal & the risks so inevitable that they're not worth the trouble
pencillingout.substack.com/p/can-we-boo...
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reposted by
Richard Day
Abundant Housing Illinois
5 months ago
City That Works author Richard Day is out with a great write-up of the current accessory dwelling unit (ADU) situation. đď¸ His conclusion is alarming: Ald. Quinn's ADU ordinance will kill ADU construction citywide, even in current ADU pilot areas. đ
citythatworks.substack.com/p/there-is-o...
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There is only one good ADU bill
Chicago struggles with the basics of better housing policy
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/there-is-only-one-good-adu-bill
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Over at A City That Works: Harjas Sandhu has a great piece breaking down Chicago's lead pipe problem. And I think it may have already helped trigger a City Council hearing next week?
citythatworks.substack.com/p/solving-ch...
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Solving Chicago's lead pipe problem
Better answers for one of the city's most difficult challenges
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/solving-chicagos-lead-pipe-problem
5 months ago
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reposted by
Richard Day
Star:Line Chicago
5 months ago
A good new post about NITA in A City That Works today:
citythatworks.substack.com/p/the-northe...
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The Northern Illinois Transit Authority is a good idea
A solid compromise on a challenging problem
https://citythatworks.substack.com/p/the-northern-illinois-transit-authority?utm_source=substack&publication_id=306193&post_id=173412496&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=5kvd94&triedRedirect=true
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Come on out!
add a skeleton here at some point
5 months ago
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reposted by
Richard Day
Star:Line Chicago
6 months ago
The design is still a customer experience nightmare, but at least itâs more than twice as expensive now than it was four years ago
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Itâs a really fun piece.
airmail.news/issues/2025-...
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6 months ago
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reposted by
Richard Day
Michael McLean
6 months ago
In 2024, Illinois was almost dead-last for new housing permits on a per capita basis
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