indiana just voted 95-4 to steal the bears, cook county's software meltdown just got personal, and the city owes you $163 million in parking ticket refunds

got this from a friend? subscribe and cut out the middleman.
also: this fledgling newsletter is now on instagram.

the west loop is doing the thing where it asks for downtown zoning without saying “downtown.” block club reports the city’s plan commission advanced two proposed west loop high-rises, 29 and 32 stories, that want zoning designations typically reserved for downtown skyscrapers. it’s the classic local ritual: someone proposes “density,” everyone pretends it’s about sunlight and traffic, and the word “character” starts doing unpaid overtime.

chicago has been overcharging you for parking tickets for a decade. now it might have to pay it back. a cook county judge ruled the city "systematically overcharged" drivers for parking tickets and other violations for about 10 years, and the refund tab could reach $163 million. the suit says drivers were charged more than the state-mandated cap of $250 per violation once late fees piled on — one plaintiff racked up $1,600 across four city sticker tickets. the city is considering an appeal. if you ever felt like the ticket price was made up on the spot, it turns out that was basically true.

cook county’s property tax software is so cooked that the vendor is refusing to talk to maria pappas. the company behind delays in cook county property tax bills and refunds (tyler technologies) sent a letter to treasurer maria pappas saying they will not work with her directly anymore, accusing her of bullying and foul language. pappas says she's pushing them over nearly $182 million in refunds still owed, and that their system will not let the county cut checks. preckwinkle's office called the alleged language "troubling and unacceptable" and said it will be referred for review. the important detail here is that the county's money problems are now also an interpersonal workplace drama.

indiana just voted 95-4 to steal the bears, and the house floor got extremely personal about it. the indiana house passed senate bill 27 on tuesday, which sets up a stadium authority to fund a new bears stadium near wolf lake in hammond. the bears would put up $2 billion, and indiana would back about $1 billion through bonds repaid by a new 12% admissions tax, a 1% food and beverage tax across lake and porter counties, and a new 5% innkeepers tax in lake county. one rep literally teared up talking about his late father's dream of bringing the bears to northwest indiana. a packers fan thanked george halas for saving green bay football, which is the kind of thing that happens when you let indiana have nice things. pritzker said he "really doesn't know" if they'll stay, which is politician for "i'm pretending this isn't happening." the bill goes back to the senate for final approval, at which point chicago will have to decide if it's ready to become a baseball-only town.

geneva commons has a warby parker on its vision board. daily herald says warby parker is opening its 15th illinois store at geneva commons (414 commons drive) on saturday. other suburban locations include deer park, deerfield, schaumburg, naperville, and willowbrook, which means you can now impulse-buy glasses in basically any place with a lululemon nearby.

naperville school board budget anxiety continues, now with “please retire” incentives. naperville district 203 is offering a one-time incentive to encourage eligible teachers to retire, with local reporting framing it as part of managing longer-term budget pressure. if your town has started negotiating retirement incentives in public, it’s basically already having a fight about taxes, it’s just using nicer words.

if you or anyone you know has a kid heading to college, the illinois FAFSA priority deadline is march 15. the 2026-27 FAFSA is open now and illinois' priority filing date is march 15. miss it and you're not disqualified, but you're last in line for state MAP grant money, which is first-come-first-served and runs out. fifteen minutes now or regret later.

eat: monday night foodball, aka chicago’s “new restaurant scene” as a weekly pop-up you can actually show up to. wbez has a great piece on monday night foodball, a weekly event where up-and-coming chefs do a one-night menu, the host spot sells the drinks, and everyone pretends the whole thing is casual even though it’s basically an incubator with vibes. if you want to be the first person you know to have an opinion about someone who will open a restaurant later, this is how you do it.

do: scroll do312’s free list like it’s a civic duty. their free events page is basically a weekly reminder that you can leave the house without paying $38 to stand in a line.

avoid: paying resale prices for hamilton tickets like it's 2016. the show returns to CIBC theatre march 4 for an eight-week run and resale sites are already listing orchestra seats at $300+. official tickets through broadway in chicago are still available for less. it's hamilton, not a time machine. you can wait a day.

and hey — if you’d like to put your business in front of the readers of this very email, reply with a little about what you do. small, weird, or local: we like all three.

chicago park district spring programs are viewable starting march 2, with online registration opening march 9. if your kid wants to do literally anything through the park district this spring — swim lessons, basketball, dance, whatever — online registration opens march 9 for parks west of california ave and march 10 for parks east of california ave. add it to your calendar now or spend april explaining why t-ball didn't work out.

block club did a whole piece on creamy garlic dressing, its 70s moment, and why chicago still treats it like a necessary condiment for wedges, pizza, wings, and emotional support. read it, then say “i’ve always been a creamy garlic person” like you weren’t just introduced to the concept 8 minutes ago.

a media ecosystem deep dive that is basically “yes, local news is complicated, and also we still need it.”

northwestern’s local news initiative has a long report-style piece on the chicago media ecosystem that’s substantive and surprisingly readable if you’re in the mood to feel both informed and mildly doomed.

our bill-paying emails go unopened. these do not.

the city owes you money. the county owes you money. the vibes are stable.

tips, sightings, polite retirement suggestion?

reply with your neighborhood and one thing that made you pause, squint, or text someone “???”

talk thursday.

-sam