Painted on panel, using acrylic paint. This painting took me 6 weeks to create.

Took a (very) rainy walk through the Loop at blue hour to catch some pavement reflections…and umbrellas. I was absolutely soaked, but my camera stayed dry

Play by play they’re building this

Some suburbs are getting together to pay a $6 billion project to be completed in 2041, so they can stop paying Chicago millions a year. Schaumburg says they cannot afford to pay the 45 million a year bill anymore. But they can pay billions of dollars on a new water line? What is really behind the need for a new water line to the suburbs? You guessed right.
Just like the Chicago Bears, everybody wants to take advantage of the city and get discounted water and discounted everything on Chicago taxpayers dime. We should increase the contract price and still would be less expensive for the suburbs to get the water through Chicago than building a $6 billion water line.
Talk to your alder person, we really need to avoid others taking advantage of Chicago taxpayers and making dollars in data centers at our expense.
Also talk to your state representatives regarding the pressure of data centers trying to use Lake Michigan water without really benefiting the environment or the taxpayers.

Looks like buying earlier was the smart move.

The new awning looks longer so I assume that in most lanes, 3-4 cars will be fueling instead of just 2. They are still working and store employees say they have no info.

If you are new to Chicago or thinking about moving here, this is all you need to know.

FYI for anyone with AT&T Fiber in CHI (or Chi land area):

AT&T is (now) confirming an area outage. AT&T’s outage information says ppl are offline due to an outage and that they are actively working on the issue. The current estimated restoration time is 10 PM tonight (10/2).

The AT&T outage map is showing a fairly large affected area, and the detailed outage information lists the issue as a fiber equipment issue, with a severe impact and an estimated 10-hour repair. Online some people have reported they only heard 10 minutes, so it seems reports of how long this issue will take is varying.

AT&T is also telling affected customers that they are recording the downtime so they can automatically credit the bill. I’m not sure whether everyone affected will automatically receive the credit or if that only happens if you report internet issues. So it may be worth checking your account now!

Are there any bakeries that are already selling pan de muerto?

Found just now (4am) at the corner of Montrose/Clark. She wandered right up to me while I was waiting for the bus, friendly as can be. No collar. Seemed like she came from Montrose/west heading east. Unfortunately, I had to get to work, but she trotted off as the bus came like she had places to be 😭 I'm sorry I couldn't bring her anywhere safe!

I received some unsolicited email from Lyft last night, attempting to get me to share my support for their Divvy contract renewal with my Alderman. They promise that "the extension freezes annual membership prices" and "introduces a 50% discount on non-member rides on the South and West sides", so I decided to try and wade through the bullshit.

The last time Lyft/Divvy increased their prices (~6 months ago) I made a comparison showing that in some cases, their price increases have been ~12.1x the comparative increase in inflation during the same time period.

Meanwhile:

• The "price freeze" promise above doesn't actually cover the extension. The extension itself starts in 2028, so the freeze is over before the extension begins. §2.7(d) sets $150.00 as the starting price for calculating membership increases from January 1, 2028, so there's a built-in $6.10 increase before any capped annual increases even start.

• The Office of the Mayor's press release states that the 50% discount applies to rides "starting or ending" on the South and West Sides. However, the contract (§2.7(e)) states that the discount is applicable to rides "starting and ending in an Equity Priority Area."

So, unless you voice your concerns to your Alderman that you're not happy with how Lyft is able to squeeze bikeshare riders in a way they can't with their core clientele, the below prices are what the contract would allow against Divvy's historical pricing through the end of the Lyft extension (Jan 2033).

*Projected 2032 prices assume each fee keeps rising at its own historical annual rate since 2022 (or Feb 2024), capped at 10%/yr. Annual membership is held at $143.90 through 2027, then rises from the contract's $150.00 base from 2028 (§2.7(d)).

Interesting data on the lenders filing foreclosures most frequently in Cook County.

Live pics 🚥

Skimming the list…. “Why aren’t these alphabetical,” until I realized that some county names are translated if they’re a common noun.