The Home Front

The former Xsport Fitness at Piper's Alley (above) By Don DeBat Thousands of Old Town neighborhood residents are gleefully doing cartwheels over the planned opening of a classy Whole Foods Market store on the 1600 North block of North Wells St. after an eight-year grocery desert. However, many real estate insiders are skeptical about the mystery behind the sudden announcement. Is it all part of the sophisticated chess game developer Fern Hill is playing at the intersection of

By Don DeBat Financially squeezed homeowners in Chicago and across Illinois finally can look forward to some relief on soaring property insurance costs thanks to a new consumer-oriented law recently signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. The legislation, which took years to pass, hit on a theme Democrats, who control the General Assembly, have been focused on in this election year. It is a top Democratic priority to pass bills that make goods and services more affordable for

By Don DeBat For thousands of Illinoisans, an HOA turns the American dream into ‘condo jail.’ To combat board abuse and financial mismanagement, state lawmakers are weighing new bills to protect frustrated owners in ‘Condoland.’ Buying a condominium or homeowners association (HOA) property in Illinois can sometimes feel like entering “condo jail.” Board abuse, breach of fiduciary duty, and a lack of transparency are widespread complaints. Because there is currently very littl

FreddieMac interest rates as of 3/12/26 By Don DeBat With spring’s cloudy skies overhead and rain or snow in the forecast, Chicago’s North Side home-resale market remains in a quagmire in early 2026. One veteran Near North Side/Gold Coast broker simply described the current home-resale activity as “a see-saw market.” The March 2026 Baird & Warner Market Analysis, covering the key North Side neighborhoods of Near North/Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Lakeview and North Center, close