KCM Desk

KCM Desk

The KCM Desk is the research and editorial operation behind Keep Chicagoland Moving, a publication of TAK Marketing, LLC. It's a desk, not a person: coverage is produced through intensive Chicago-focused research across public data, agency documents, and local reporting, then reviewed and edited before it publishes. How we work, in detail: keepchicagolandmoving.com/methodology/
  • Joined: June 2, 2023
  • Articles: 213

Chicago Took 5,012 Vacant-Building Violations Against Financial Institutions to Hearings. Four in Five Ended in “City Non-Suit.”

A boarded-up brick two-flat on a Chicago side street in afternoon light

Chicago’s ledger of vacant-building cases against financial institutions: 5,012 violations across 4,175 hearing dockets, most from the early 2010s — and four in five ended in “City non-suit,” the city ending its own case. $1.53 million assessed at the docket grain the file itself uses, $1.26 million paid. Read in full, with the double-counting trap the file sets explained.

Chicago Has Spent 98.6 Percent of Its $1.89 Billion ARPA Grant. $27.2 Million Remained on July 31.

The columned facade of Chicago City Hall in late-afternoon light

Chicago’s $1.89 billion ARPA grant is 98.6 percent expended, with $27.2 million left across 22 program lines as of the city ledger’s July 31 refresh — the largest balance on the CARE alternative-response program, and one broadband line showing $695 spent of $4 million. Counted from the city’s own files, with Treasury’s December 31 deadline reported as Treasury’s rule.

In 90 Days, Chicago Recorded 5,396 Vehicle Tows — and 4,259 Relocations

A tow truck lifting a car on a Chicago street in summer

Chicago keeps two rolling 90-day lists of vehicles it has moved: tows to the pound, and relocations — cars moved without being impounded. We archived both on August 8: 5,396 recorded tows, 95 percent to two pounds, and 4,259 relocations, more than half labeled with city work reasons — and 72 percent of relocated cars record a different drop street than where they started.

115 of Chicago’s 517 District-Run Schools Enrolled Fewer Than 250 Students Last Fall. In Fall 2016, 56 Did.

An empty Chicago classroom with rows of desks in warm morning light

Ten falls of CPS’s own 20th-day files: district-run schools under 250 students went from 56 to 115 — 22 percent of the district’s schools — while the median school shrank from 498 students to 396, and 19 traditional schools crossed under the line in fall 2025 alone. Counted with the bands stated plainly: descriptive, not a CPS standard.

Chicago’s Public Schools Counted 316,224 Students Last Fall — 104,701 Fewer Than 20 Years Earlier. The Loop’s Schools Nearly Doubled.

A brick Chicago school building and a yellow school bus on a fall morning

We read all 21 of CPS’s 20th-day enrollment files, fall 2005 through fall 2025, and joined them on the district’s own school IDs. The count fell from 420,925 to 316,224 — and the map is uneven: 63 of 77 community areas are below their fall 2012 level while the Loop’s schools nearly doubled. Mapped area by area, with the reading rules that matter.

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