CHICAGO | General Discussions

[Randomguy34]

I'm realizing that the city's migrant dashboard undercounts the number of migrants who have arrived in Chicago, since it doesn't include people who've made independent travel plans to the city. To give an idea by how much the city is undercounting, page 3 of this recent presentation lists the number of individuals processed at the SW border who listed Chicago as their destination: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/...fing%20(1).pdf

If we see from the week of May 13th to December 23rd, we see almost 57k migrants have Chicago as their final destination! This doesn't even include migrants who initially moved to NYC and Denver and were given tickets to relocate to Chicago. This is higher than the roughly 39k who were bused or flown by Texas. This population growth is on par, in some instances higher, than Chicago in the early 20th century!

Even though the city hasn't been great at taking care of migrants, I think the only reason it hasn't been as bad as NYC or Denver is cause we have so much more vacant units than either of them.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Randomguy34

I'm realizing that the city's migrant dashboard undercounts the number of migrants who have arrived in Chicago, since it doesn't include people who've made independent travel plans to the city. To give an idea by how much the city is undercounting, page 3 of this recent presentation lists the number of individuals processed at the SW border who listed Chicago as their destination: https://www.chicago.gov/content/dam/...fing%20(1).pdf

If we see from the week of May 13th to December 23rd, we see almost 57k migrants have Chicago as their final destination! This doesn't even include migrants who initially moved to NYC and Denver and were given tickets to relocate to Chicago. This is higher than the roughly 39k who were bused or flown by Texas. This population growth is on par, in some instances higher, than Chicago in the early 20th century!

Even though the city hasn't been great at taking care of migrants, I think the only reason it hasn't been as bad as NYC or Denver is cause we have so much more vacant units than either of them.

I wonder how many were able to get work permits? 100+ years ago that wasn't really a thing per se. Much harder today to make "legal" money for them than way back the last time the US had some massive immigration like this.

[bnk]

A bit of good census news. This correction will bring in millions in additional federal funding to Illinois.


https://justthenews.com/government/f...-altering-2020

New York, California, other blue states succeed in altering 2020 census numbers, report says

Just the News ^ | January 21, 2024 | Madeleine Hubbard


The Democrat-run states such as New York and Illinois are increasing 2020 census numbers after successfully asking for a review of the once-a-decade population survey that helps determine federal funding distribution as the states struggle with population losses.

...

The updates can be used in future population estimates through the rest of the decade to determine federal funding, but the new information cannot be used to redraw political districts or alter the number of congressional seats each state received during the post-census apportionment process.

Illinois, California, and New York all lost one congressional seat following the 2020 census due to population changes... The most significant increase in population is coming to Illinois, with an additional 47,000 people being added after the review.

Illinois officials had requested the review after believing that census officials overlooked more than 40,000 people in senior facilities and care homes as well as nearly 6,000 college students in dorms. These group homes were difficult to count as many were locked down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
...

[ithakas]

I know LaSalle Street Reimagined's future is uncertain, but is the city doing anything like this NYC program?

Office Conversion Accelerator Team Will Help Expedite Conversions of Office Buildings to Provide New Homes


To advance office to residential conversions, which will help address ongoing office vacancies and create thousands of much-needed new homes for New Yorkers, Mayor Adams has established the Accelerator team to work with office building owners to advance opportunities for conversions. The Office Conversion Accelerator includes representatives from City Hall, the Department of City Planning, the Department of Buildings, the Department of Housing Preservation & Development, the Board of Standards and Appeals, the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and others.

The program will assist owners with conversions, from analyzing the zoning feasibility of individual conversion projects, to helping conversion projects secure necessary permits. Property owners of existing office buildings can seek the interagency team’s help to identify barriers to conversion and expedite pathways to overcome those barriers.

Source: https://www.nyc.gov/site/officeconversions/index.page


New York now has 46 (!) office-to-residential conversion projects participating in this program: https://therealdeal.com/new-york/202...i-accelerator/

[left of center]

Good news! That means that officially Illinois did not lose population as stated in the 2020 census. Instead of losing 18k residents we gained 29k, which is barely any growth at all but certainly better than outright population loss.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by left of center

Good news! That means that officially Illinois did not lose population as stated in the 2020 census. Instead of losing 18k residents we gained 29k, which is barely any growth at all but certainly better than outright population loss.

The post enumeration study from the Census implies that Illinois gained almost 250K people. However, this is still good news because it directly corresponds to millions more in funding and hard proof that all the stories of loss were bullshit. Even at +250K that's not good growth, but growth is also entirely different than , again the BS stories about how it was losing a quarter million people.

It will also help with future population estimates. It would be interesting to see how this impacts the estimates for Chicago/the area too.

[Steely Dan]

Why does the census bureau suck so fucking hard at the one and only job it's supposed to do?

They're like the Washington Generals of federal agencies.

[left of center]

The Census Bureau historically sucks when it comes to counting Chicago (as well as other older legacy cities) for whatever reason, but boy howdy did it screw the pooch in 2020. Difficulties staffing up and counting up citizens due to the pandemic, as well as the Trump administration clearly fighting to prevent the Census from doing its job (especially in blue states) really caused the Census Bureau to drop the ball (remember how they wanted to postpone it/cancel it entirely?). The 2020 results should be marked with an asterisk so that future generations realize what a absolute clusterf*ck it was.

[twister244]

F1 coming to Chicago??????

https://wgntv.com/sports/f1-may-have...-in-the-works/

[galleyfox]

Originally Posted by twister244

F1 coming to Chicago??????

https://wgntv.com/sports/f1-may-have...-in-the-works/

I wouldn’t hold my breath. Chances are that F1 is just being petty about the NASCAR race and trying to block “Grand Prix” label usage.

F1 is very difficult and expensive to work with. Temporary festival setup for NASCAR is easypeasy compared to F1 demands.

[Steely Dan]

Really interesting WBEZ article about income and education shifts taking place right now.

Lots of great interactive maps too!

Highly recommend:

Household income and education levels are on the rise in most parts of the Chicago area

[Randomguy34]

Came across this story of 800-1000 Venezuelan and Nicaraguan migrants voluntarily moving to Whitewater, WI over the past 2 years. Even though Chicago, NYC, and Denver have received the most migrants, many of them are moving to small towns where they may not need work permits to get a job.

https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/m...in-whitewater/

[SIGSEGV]

^ downstate cities should really be trying to attract migrants. Places like Decatur need more people...

[urbanpln]

Does anyone know if a small condo building requires screens(balcony doors)?

[amfleisch]

13-196-560 Residential buildings – Screens

https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/code...l/0-0-0-361844

[urbanpln]

Originally Posted by amfleisch

13-196-560 Residential buildings – Screens

https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/code...l/0-0-0-361844

Thank you for responding. I went to the Department of Buildings and was told screens were not required. Now I'm confused.

[ardecila]

The new code section is a little different and exempts windows/doors above 50 feet. This is CBC though which applies to new buildings and major alterations (adaptive reuse, condo conversion, etc).

https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/CH...5_Ch12_Sec1211

For an existing building you are looking at the "Minimum Requirements for Existing Buildings" which does not contain a screen requirement.

[urbanpln]

Originally Posted by ardecila

The new code section is a little different and exempts windows/doors above 50 feet. This is CBC though which applies to new buildings and major alterations (adaptive reuse, condo conversion, etc).

https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/CH...5_Ch12_Sec1211

For an existing building you are looking at the "Minimum Requirements for Existing Buildings" which does not contain a screen requirement.

Thank you for explaining. You are a valuable resource.

[Randomguy34]

Bloomberg has an article talking about Chicago being one of the new hotspots for migrants seeking a place to live. At the state level, Illinois had the largest increase in migrants filing for asylum here compared to other US states, at an 821% increase from 2021. To give an idea of how significant this is, Cook County in 2023 received about as many migrants as Los Angeles County, Harris County (Houston), and Miami-Dade. While there are short-term pains with this rapid increase, in the mid- and long-term this will be beneficial to the city's growth. If we keep experience +60k population growth every year, we can easily surpass 3 million people by the end of the decade.


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/featu...t-destinations

[left of center]

It would be a welcome surprise if this level of migration could continue for an extended period of time. At some point, I fear something will eventually bottle it up. If Biden wins reelection, the GOP will be forced to work with the Dems on a strategy for the border to reduce the amount of asylum seekers coming into the country. If Trump wins in Nov, then we can expect a repeat of 2016-2020, when immigration to the US nearly completely dried up. Obviously, a Dem in office for the next 4 years will benefit Chicago's population growth significantly more, since a deal on the border should hopefully still allow a decent inflow of immigration, as compared to what a Trump presidency could look like.

In either case, the past few years have been a great shot in the arm for Chicago's population numbers. Here is to hoping it continues in some way shape or form going forward!