CHICAGO | General Discussions

[Steely Dan]

i just turned on our AC for the 1st time yesterday.

making it all the way to june 24th without turning on the A/C is pretty fucking good for chicago.

[LouisVanDerWright]

The weather is just hitting it's stride, this week definitely shifting to summer mode with 80 degree temps every day, lots of sun, and a constant threat of random isolated super cells and the occasional squall line. This weather is when Chicago is THE only place worth being on earth.

[Tom In Chicago]

^The humidity has been pretty low too. . . which is nice. . .

. . .

[moorhosj]

Originally Posted by Tom In Chicago

^The humidity has been pretty low too. . . which is nice. . .

. . .

We are moving on Saturday, so I’m sure it will be hot, humid and rainy.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Remember that Olympic bid we lost in the first round? Turns out they were bribed...

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4...-host-olympics

[emathias]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

Remember that Olympic bid we lost in the first round? Turns out they were bribed...

https://thehill.com/homenews/media/4...-host-olympics

Of course they were. The IOC is one of the most corrupt organizations in the world, probably worse than FIFA. I don't know if Chicago had the best plan, but eliminating it in the first round was absurd. I understand the sentiment for Brazil, but given we had the Olympics stolen from us once before, we deserved at least a fair chance at them. It's possible we could have turned a profit like LA did.

[the urban politician]

Anybody hear about this?

https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/7/9/...ions-work-stop

Looks like HGTV got into hot water with Chicago's Dept of Buildings

This might cause the show to shut down entirely

[Handro]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Anybody hear about this?

https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/7/9/...ions-work-stop

Looks like HGTV got into hot water with Chicago's Dept of Buildings

This might cause the show to shut down entirely

That's too bad, I personally was put off by their obsession with deconversions ("It's like a taste of the suburbs right in the city!" were words that she really said) but if I recall it was a pretty highly rated HGTV show, and not to get into the whole "we gotta promote chicago!" discussion but showing the HGTV crowd some of the cool neighborhoods in Chicago (and no gun violence!) was a good thing.

[LouisVanDerWright]

^^^ Yeah, I wonder what exactly they did to get the Buildings Dept death sentence?

[the urban politician]

Originally Posted by Handro

That's too bad, I personally was put off by their obsession with deconversions ("It's like a taste of the suburbs right in the city!" were words that she really said) but if I recall it was a pretty highly rated HGTV show, and not to get into the whole "we gotta promote chicago!" discussion but showing the HGTV crowd some of the cool neighborhoods in Chicago (and no gun violence!) was a good thing.

True except that literally every. Single. Conversion. Was in Bucktown

[bnk]

Originally Posted by the urban politician

Anybody hear about this?

https://chicago.curbed.com/2019/7/9/...ions-work-stop

Looks like HGTV got into hot water with Chicago's Dept of Buildings

This might cause the show to shut down entirely

Sounds like the show will go on with a new contractor, which seemed to me to be the simple answer.




https://chicago.suntimes.com/2019/7/...-eckhardt-hgtv



Embattled ‘Windy City Rehab’ star to work with new general contractor — raising questions about Chicago co-host’s future

Star Alison Victoria didn’t respond to messages enquiring about the future of her quirky co-host, Donovan Eckhardt, who functioned as general contractor in the show’s first season

By Mitch Dudek Jul 15, 2019, 3:22pm CDT




In her efforts to get back in the good graces of the city after a number of violations and complaints, the star of the hit TV show “Windy City Rehab” announced the show will go on, but she’ll be working with a new general contractor ….


Victoria posted a message to her thousands of followers on Instagram.

“I want you to hear it from me directly that I am working closely with the City of Chicago to repair and amend any and all permits with our new general contractors,” she wrote. “The building department says they are pleased with our efforts and we will continue to work closely together.”



…


HGTV says the show is one of its most popular new series, claiming 9.3 million viewers in its first month and a half on the air.

[SFBruin]

That sucks that that was the process.

At the same time, isn't it nice that a country that had never hosted the Olympics (Brazil) got it instead of a country that had hosted it four times (USA)?

[Handro]

Originally Posted by SFBruin

That sucks that that was the process.

At the same time, isn't it nice that a country that had never hosted the Olympics (Brazil) got it instead of a country that had hosted it four times (USA)?

And I wonder how we'd be enjoying having some abandoned Olympic infrastructure around the South Loop/Bronzeville right now (greatly impeding the possibility those places are developed)

I think it was a blessing we missed out... ironic that corruption actually SAVED Chicago for once

[harryc]

July 1

Chicago by Harry Carmichael, on Flickr

[ardecila]

Originally Posted by Handro

And I wonder how we'd be enjoying having some abandoned Olympic infrastructure around the South Loop/Bronzeville right now (greatly impeding the possibility those places are developed)

I think it was a blessing we missed out... ironic that corruption actually SAVED Chicago for once

I don't think it would have played out that way. The stadium in Washington Park and other lakefront facilities were designed to be temporary. The Olympic Village and facilities at the Michael Reese site would definitely be preferable to the current status of the site as a huge urban wasteland, I doubt that site will ever develop in my lifetime short of some huge hideous casino or McPier convention center boondoggle. The Olympic Plan for Michael Reese was actually pretty urban and would have left us with a great new lakefront neighborhood.

[Handro]

Originally Posted by ardecila

The Olympic Plan for Michael Reese was actually pretty urban and would have left us with a great new lakefront neighborhood.

I stand corrected! I was imagining this scenario: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/artic...9-03290074e34a

If the stadium was temporary or built with immediate re-purposing in mind that's another story, I suppose.

[LouisVanDerWright]

^ The Chicago money machine is stuck in high gear! I have seen a notable uptick in rental demand since last year. Both quantity and quality of tenants I'm encountering is rising.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright

^ The Chicago money machine is stuck in high gear! I have seen a notable uptick in rental demand since last year. Both quantity and quality of tenants I'm encountering is rising.

Interesting and great to hear, that coincides with stronger job growth this year than last, so I guess not very surprising.

[marothisu]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Interesting and great to hear, that coincides with stronger job growth this year than last, so I guess not very surprising.

For May 2019 as a city, Chicago had a lower unemployment percentage than NYC, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Phoenix. At an MSA level, NYC and Chicago have the same unemployment rate (3.5%), and Philadelphia and Los Angeles is just behind at 3.6%. Houston MSA is at 3.2% while Dallas MSA is at 2.7%.

[LouisVanDerWright]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Interesting and great to hear, that coincides with stronger job growth this year than last, so I guess not very surprising.

I think it's a national trend resulting from an ongoing dearth of sellers in the housing market since everyone who was going to go under did 10 years ago and everyone else either just bought or bought at steep discounts to today's prices and are in no hurry to realize gains and reinvest that money at today's prices or plow it into stocks sitting at record highs or bonds sitting at historically low interest rates. There's basically nowhere for money to go right now and no one in a difficult position where they need to liquidate. That means prices continue to rise and rise making renting an ongoing attractive option.


Also right on time, 82% of people say renting is cheaper than buying right now:

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/08/rent...ning-home.html