The Home Front

(above) U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivers remarks at a news conference following a Federal Open Market Committee meeting at the Federal Reserve on December 10, 2025, in Washington, D.C. Photo by Sha Hanting/China News Service/VCG via AP. With the Fed’s recent rate cut to 3.5-3.75 percent, prospective home buyers in Chicago face a challenging housing market, as inflation and political turmoil inflate costs. Expect mortgage rates to remain above 6 percent into 2

(Above) Row of older brick homes in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, where property taxes increased an average of $2,508 from last...