

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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


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, 2025


North Side Existing Home Sales Rebound in March
March 2025 saw surprising resilience in North Side home sales, with existing sales up 8.4 percent from the previous year, as buyers...
Don DeBat
Apr 22, 2025


Record Number of Property Tax Appeals Filed for Tax Year 2024
Appeals increased by 11 percent over 2023 as property owners in Chicago and surrounding suburbs turned to the Cook County Board of Review...
Don DeBat
Apr 13, 2025


Chicago Apartment Dwellers Face Hefty Spring Rent Hikes
(Above) Looking south down south branch of Chicago River in 2018. Wolf Point West at right. Photo by Sean Pavone. Rent prices in Chicago...
Don DeBat
Apr 2, 2025


Cook County Assessor Scrambles to Fix Tax Data Integrity
An investigation reveals significant misclassifications in Cook County property assessments, with many properties incorrectly valued or...
Don DeBat
Mar 23, 2025



