The Home Front

Photo by Lev Dolgachov New legislation raises the income eligibility threshold for the Low-Income Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze from $65,000 to $75,000, providing much-needed tax relief to senior homeowners in Cook County starting in 2026. By Don DeBat Chicago and Cook County senior homeowners likely will soon be jumping out of their wheelchairs and doing happy cartwheels thanks to an increased property tax break. On October 23, the Illinois General Assembly passed legisl

(Above) City workers remove water from Lower Wacker Drive near Randolph Street after overnight flooding on May 18, 2020. Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Chicago Sun-Times via AP. By Don DeBat The once extremely profitable Illinois property insurance industry literally is blowing in the wind and battling a rising tide of property damage from weather extremes nationwide. Billions of dollars in losses sparked by California wildfires and forest fires in western states – and an unprecedented

Victorian home in Old Town (above) By Don DeBat The 2025 holidays may be only weeks away, but dark clouds still hang over Chicago’s North Side resale-home market, leaving gold-seeking prospective buyers wondering if they will find a lump of coal in their Christmas stockings. Through the third quarter the North Side residential market continued to struggle with the same year-long hangover headaches—limited listing inventory and strong buyer demand, which keeps pushing home pri

(Above) A coach house (left in photo) in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood. Click on image to view larger version. ADU photos by Don DeBat. A new Chicago ordinance now allows Additional Dwelling Units, or ‘Granny Flats,’ to be built citywide, signaling a significant step toward addressing Chicago’s affordable housing shortage. By Don DeBat “Granny Flats” finally are rising out of their rocking chairs in Chicago, a world-class city that is desperate for construction of new affor

Mayor Johnson’s multi-million-dollar bike lane plan is creating a rift in Chicago, as motorists struggle with increased traffic and lost...

Economists predict that a recent quarter-point interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve could lead to mortgage rates as low as 5.75...

A new University of Chicago study reveals that reforms by Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi could have saved middle and lower-income...

Homeowners in Chicago and Cook County are left in limbo as the county struggles to finalize the 2024 property tax bills. Initially due on...

By Don DeBat Chicagoans who believe they live in a “world class” city likely experienced great shock last week after President Donald...

Apartment hunters in downtown Chicago may encounter sharply higher rents next spring due to a significant drop in new rental unit...

(Above) 2017 photo of a flooded Chicago Riverwalk. As recent monsoon-like rains inundate neighborhoods, Chicago homeowners are grappling...

(Above) Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, where median home prices increased 25.7 percent in July 2025, compared with July 2024, but home...