North Side Condo Prices Skyrocket 9.3 Percent in Q2
Dwindling inventory and strong buyer demand pushed the median sales price of an attached home on the North Side to a new record. By Don...
Don DeBat
Aug 10
Grant Park Plan Diminishes Softball
The Chicago Park District’s new master plan for Grant Park threatens to overlook the city’s rich 16-inch softball history, pushing the...
Don DeBat
Aug 3
Democratic Machine Attempts to Dump Assessor Kaegi
(Above) Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi (left in photo) and Lyons Township Assessor Patrick Hynes. Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi is...
Don DeBat
Jul 30
Chicago 16-inch Softball More Like Chess Than Baseball
The evolution of 16-inch slow-pitch Chicago-style softball is filled with unique strategies, like the creative ‘shuffle’ technique and...
Don DeBat
Jul 28
Southeast Side a Better Fit for Permanent NASCAR Track
(Above) Driver Shane van Gisbergen competes in a NASCAR Cup Series race at Grant Park on July 6 (AP Photo/Erin Hooley). Residents and...
Don DeBat
Jul 13
Home Loan Rates on Downward Slide for Weeks
Home loan interest rates have dipped for five straight weeks, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage now at 6.67 percent. This decline...
Don DeBat
Jul 7
Chicago’s May Resale Home Market was a Chess Game
The Chicago North Side home resale market has transformed into a tense battleground, with buyers scrambling to secure properties as...
Don DeBat
Jun 17
New Ordinance Will Provide More Regulation of Short-term Rentals in Chicago
(Above) Dining/Great Room of an Airbnb in Old Town. Interior photos by Andrew Charles Miller. (Click on images to view larger versions.)...
Don DeBat
Jun 3
Falling Commercial Property Values Mean Higher Taxes for Homeowners
(Above) Google Street View of 200 West Monroe Street in the Loop. Valued at $100 million when purchased in 2014, the 23-story building...
Don DeBat
Jun 3
Apartment Renters and Landlords Battle Over Move-In Fees
A conflict is brewing between landlords and tenants in Chicago’s North Side apartment rental market over non-refundable move-in fees. A...
Don DeBat
May 17
Are Chicago’s Landmark Districts Threatened by High-Rises?
(Above) Buildings in the Old Town Historic District. Photo by Don DeBat. With a 36-story apartment tower set to rise in Old Town, and the...
Don DeBat
May 11
Taxes Spike for 240,000 Chicago and Cook County Homeowners
(Above) Row of older brick homes in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, where property taxes increased an average of $2,508 from last...
Don DeBat
May 11
