Articles - Keep Chicagoland Moving

Moving Here

Who Is Buying Chicago? The Buyer’s Name on 245,849 Deeds: Companies Bought 13 Percent of Homes and 46 Percent of Those Resold Within Two Years

A renovated Chicago brick bungalow between two weathered neighbors on a South Side street

Companies bought 13 percent of the Chicago homes sold from 2018 through 2022 and 46 percent of the ones resold by their buyers within two years. The buyer names on 245,849 recorded sales, sorted: single-building condominium buyouts, house-by-house buyers, a nonprofit receiver and a relocation firm. Recomputed September 30, 2026, with five corrections to the July version.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

Moving Here

Chicago’s Tax Rolls Show 7,875 Fewer Two-to-Six-Flats Than in 2006. Of the 13,049 Parcels That Left the Count, 6,208 Are Now Classed as Single-Family Houses.

A classic brick Chicago two-flat with bay windows and front stairs in late light

Cook County’s tax rolls show 7,875 fewer two-to-six-flats in Chicago than in 2006. Of the 13,049 parcels that left the count, 6,208 are now classed as single-family houses, 2,729 as vacant land, and 2,084 were retired with condominium units recorded within 12 meters of the same spot. In higher-priced areas most are now houses; in lower-priced areas most are vacant land. Recomputed September 30, 2026, with corrections to the July version.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

Neighborhoods & Suburbs

Where Chicago’s Gentrification Signals Are Active: East Garfield Park, New City and North Lawndale Show Four of Five. Logan Square, Avondale and the Lower West Side Show None.

A block of Chicago greystone apartment buildings, one under renovation beside weathered neighbors

Five market signals scored from public records in all 77 Chicago community areas: house prices, two-to-six-flat prices, company buyers, new-construction permits and new business licenses. Three areas west and south of downtown show four of five; Logan Square, Avondale and the Lower West Side show none. Recomputed September 30, 2026, on the county’s updated sales file, with a correction to the company-buyer share.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

Moving Here

What a Chicago Home Actually Sold For: 245,849 Deeds Since 2018, All 77 Community Areas

A classic brick Chicago two-flat on a residential street in late-afternoon light

We joined every market sale recorded by the Cook County Assessor since 2018 to Chicago’s 77 community areas: what buyers actually paid, by area and by type of home, with a map you can scrub through the years. Recomputed September 30, 2026, after the county added 5,502 sales to 2025, and with parking spaces and storage units taken out of the condo figures.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

City in Motion

Riding the Red Line, 2001–2026: Every Station, One Scroll

A CTA Red Line train arriving at an elevated Chicago station platform at dusk

Scroll the Red Line from Howard to 95th: a station-by-station ride through 25 years of CTA turnstile data, with a train that moves down the map as you read.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

Living Here

It Is Peak Rat Season in Chicago. The City’s Own Rat Ledger Tells a Better Story Than the Trophy.

City alley at golden hour with garbage carts and a small rat crossing in the distance

Chicago has been named America's rattiest city ten years running - by a pest-control company counting its own treatments. The city's actual 311 rat ledger, all 372,251 complaints of it, tells a richer story: a 2021 peak, four straight years of decline, a July rat season peaking now, and a rat map crowned by Lake View. With an interactive report card for all 77 neighborhoods.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

City in Motion

One Map, Three Chicagos: Where the City Builds, Opens, and Rides

Layered dusk scene of a construction crane, lit storefront, and elevated track

Our three computed datasets - construction permits, new business licenses, and L station recovery - painted onto one interactive map of the 77 community areas. Tap between the views and watch the same city rearrange itself.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

City in Motion

Chicago Licenses 1,000 Fewer New Businesses a Year Than Before the Pandemic. The Gap Is Downtown.

Storefront with security gate half-raised on a quiet retail street at morning

The city licensed 6,503 new business locations in 2025 - about 13 percent below 2019, with the Loop down 38 percent, the worst of the ten biggest license centers. The third leg of our vitality triangle, computed from the city's own license records - including the neighborhood 'boom' that turned out to be a flea market's vendor stalls.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

City in Motion

The L’s Best Year Was 2015, Not 2019. A Quarter Century of Ridership in Three Charts.

Elevated transit tracks at dusk with light trails from a passing train

3.8 billion turnstile entries since 2001 tell the L's whole modern arc: a fifteen-year climb to the 2015 peak, a slide that started before the pandemic, the 2020 cliff, and five straight years of recovery. Plus the 25-year station reshuffle and the rise of the weekend rider - three charts, all computed from the city's own data.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026

City in Motion

One Chicago Speed Camera Recorded 166,666 Violations in Its First Year. Here Is the Leaderboard.

Automated speed camera pole beside a wide urban arterial street with passing cars

Speed-camera violations are up 38 percent in 2026 - but at cameras that existed last year, they actually fell 16 percent. The whole increase is the new fleet. We ranked all 213 speed cameras and 151 red-light intersections from the city's own data.

KCM Desk
July 18, 2026