Chris Goodman
@cbgoodman.co
Associate Professor & MPA Director @ NIU. Public finance & local govts. Special districts, mostly. 🚴
📍 Chicagoland
🌐 hello.cgoodman.com
📍 Chicagoland
🌐 hello.cgoodman.com
Pinned
Chris Goodman
@cbgoodman.co
· Nov 12
Hi folks, Chris here.
I figure I should do one of these intro things. I'm a prof at NIU, studying special districts and/or state preemption (people typically know me for one or the other).
I post a lot about local govts, Illinois, and cycling.
Welcome!
I figure I should do one of these intro things. I'm a prof at NIU, studying special districts and/or state preemption (people typically know me for one or the other).
I post a lot about local govts, Illinois, and cycling.
Welcome!
@escapecollective.bsky.social thoughts: what if Tadej won all three grand tours and just rode off after the Vuelta, never to be seen again?
I’ll take it further. What if he wins all three, doesn’t stop at the last stage of the Vuelta, keeps riding, gets in a car, and disappears into oblivion?
I’ll take it further. What if he wins all three, doesn’t stop at the last stage of the Vuelta, keeps riding, gets in a car, and disappears into oblivion?
December 26, 2025 at 8:48 PM
@escapecollective.bsky.social thoughts: what if Tadej won all three grand tours and just rode off after the Vuelta, never to be seen again?
I’ll take it further. What if he wins all three, doesn’t stop at the last stage of the Vuelta, keeps riding, gets in a car, and disappears into oblivion?
I’ll take it further. What if he wins all three, doesn’t stop at the last stage of the Vuelta, keeps riding, gets in a car, and disappears into oblivion?
My wife is watching White Christmas for the first time, and this one of the first times I cannot read her.
December 26, 2025 at 3:22 AM
My wife is watching White Christmas for the first time, and this one of the first times I cannot read her.
Reposted by Chris Goodman
School boards matter as members' policy priorities—but not their demographic and professional identities—drive major shifts in spending, leadership, and student achievement, from Barbara Biasi, Minseon Park, John D. Singleton, and Seth D. Zimmerman www.nber.org/papers/w34590
December 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
School boards matter as members' policy priorities—but not their demographic and professional identities—drive major shifts in spending, leadership, and student achievement, from Barbara Biasi, Minseon Park, John D. Singleton, and Seth D. Zimmerman www.nber.org/papers/w34590
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, GREG. I welcome a society organized around Sour Patch Kids.
Cars can be useful, like pencils, and fun, like Sour Patch Kids, and yet at the same time it was a mistake to fundamentally reorganize society around them.
welcome to the Second Annual Bluesky Christmas Eve Snowball Fight!
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
please drop a take in the replies and I or someone else will be along to belligerently interpret whatever you said in the worst possible light
December 25, 2025 at 1:37 AM
SPEAK FOR YOURSELF, GREG. I welcome a society organized around Sour Patch Kids.
Reposted by Chris Goodman
The STAR bond program that will allow the Chiefs to move across the state line to Kansas City Kansas has become a giant credit card for all the communities of Kansas. It has really brought out my inner Grinch!
www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
No tax increases for Chiefs’ move to Kansas? This Grinch has bad news | Opinion
STAR bonds are like a credit card: We buy the gifts now, but then we pay for them for the next 20 years. | Opinion
www.kansascity.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM
The STAR bond program that will allow the Chiefs to move across the state line to Kansas City Kansas has become a giant credit card for all the communities of Kansas. It has really brought out my inner Grinch!
www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
www.kansascity.com/opinion/read...
App recommendation, if you're on a Mac.
If you're annoyed by something that macOS does, chances are you can tweak it with this app. My two favorites: actual cut and paste of files, and clicking an app on the dock turns it grey and hides all instances of the app.
If you're annoyed by something that macOS does, chances are you can tweak it with this app. My two favorites: actual cut and paste of files, and clicking an app on the dock turns it grey and hides all instances of the app.
Supercharge
Elevate your Mac experience
sindresorhus.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:41 PM
App recommendation, if you're on a Mac.
If you're annoyed by something that macOS does, chances are you can tweak it with this app. My two favorites: actual cut and paste of files, and clicking an app on the dock turns it grey and hides all instances of the app.
If you're annoyed by something that macOS does, chances are you can tweak it with this app. My two favorites: actual cut and paste of files, and clicking an app on the dock turns it grey and hides all instances of the app.
In case you don’t know the geography of Kansas, the bottom portions are the richest parts of Kansas—hands down. If they don’t want this, there’s a good chance of it not happening.
The stadium tax district would cannibalize sales and liquor taxes from an enormous chunk of the NE corner of Kansas, puttiing the lie to Gov. Kelly's claim that the Chiefs deal "requires no new funds from the current state budget."
Chiefs stadium subsidy hits $4.1B, could siphon off taxes from 293-square-mile swath of Kansas
It's been a whirlwind couple of days since Monday's announcement that the state of Kansas was offering Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt billions of dollars in cash and tax breaks to move across the...
www.fieldofschemes.com
December 24, 2025 at 5:07 PM
In case you don’t know the geography of Kansas, the bottom portions are the richest parts of Kansas—hands down. If they don’t want this, there’s a good chance of it not happening.
Folks, battleships have a lot of stairs. And I don’t even go on the biggest ones!
I guess I don’t have to workout today.
I guess I don’t have to workout today.
December 23, 2025 at 9:47 PM
Folks, battleships have a lot of stairs. And I don’t even go on the biggest ones!
I guess I don’t have to workout today.
I guess I don’t have to workout today.
I’ve apparently lived in the Midwest long enough that I’ll take endless fields of corn and beans over endless the pine forests of the South any day.
December 23, 2025 at 4:19 PM
I’ve apparently lived in the Midwest long enough that I’ll take endless fields of corn and beans over endless the pine forests of the South any day.
Called it, sorta.
He's gonna try to reactive the Iowa class battleships, huh? Never mind they've been museums for 20+ years (and decommissioned for 10 years before that).
Army parade ‘disappointed’ Trump, so Navy will do one too. The U.S. Navy is reportedly throwing Trump an even bigger military parade this fall, as he wasn’t satisfied by the first one.
December 22, 2025 at 7:22 PM
Called it, sorta.
It’s always wild to me that the moonscape that is Mont Ventoux is man-made. It was systematically stripped of its trees for shipbuilding starting in the 12th century.
December 22, 2025 at 12:32 AM
It’s always wild to me that the moonscape that is Mont Ventoux is man-made. It was systematically stripped of its trees for shipbuilding starting in the 12th century.
Negative split VO2 max intervals, 8x4 minutes. 🤮
How’s your day?
(I secretly love these.)
How’s your day?
(I secretly love these.)
December 20, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Negative split VO2 max intervals, 8x4 minutes. 🤮
How’s your day?
(I secretly love these.)
How’s your day?
(I secretly love these.)
In case you’re wondering how in-demand some local govt jobs are, a not insignificant number of places (and a lot are smaller) are hiring executive search firms for assistant department head jobs.
December 19, 2025 at 4:48 PM
In case you’re wondering how in-demand some local govt jobs are, a not insignificant number of places (and a lot are smaller) are hiring executive search firms for assistant department head jobs.
I'm trying to get better at tagging all my references in Zotero so I can find things faster. I have references sorted into folders, but that leaves out a lot of cross-cutting things.
I finally managed to get a query to show me untagged references.
1,004. 🤢
I finally managed to get a query to show me untagged references.
1,004. 🤢
December 19, 2025 at 6:42 AM
I'm trying to get better at tagging all my references in Zotero so I can find things faster. I have references sorted into folders, but that leaves out a lot of cross-cutting things.
I finally managed to get a query to show me untagged references.
1,004. 🤢
I finally managed to get a query to show me untagged references.
1,004. 🤢
Every time I even think about the news.
a man in a suit says serious people in a dark room
ALT: a man in a suit says serious people in a dark room
media.tenor.com
December 18, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Every time I even think about the news.
Reposted by Chris Goodman
"No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law"
Article 1, Section 9.
Article 1, Section 9.
December 18, 2025 at 1:28 AM
"No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law"
Article 1, Section 9.
Article 1, Section 9.
Something tells me the Whiting or Hammond Bears doesn't have the same ring. (East) Chicago Bears.
The Chicago Bears are considering a move to northwest Indiana amid growing concerns that Illinois lawmakers will not approve the financial incentives needed to build a new stadium in Arlington Heights, a top team official told the Tribune.
Chicago Bears say they’re looking into building a new stadium in northwest Indiana
In 1995, the Chicago Bears threatened to move to northwest Indiana if the team didn’t get money for a new stadium. They’re doing it again.
www.chicagotribune.com
December 18, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Something tells me the Whiting or Hammond Bears doesn't have the same ring. (East) Chicago Bears.
Not quite sure I’d call it rural (DeKalb is in the Elgin Metro Division of the Chicago CSA), but if you take Roosevelt out of the city for long enough, you’ll run right into this. On the left before the train tracks.
December 17, 2025 at 3:24 AM
Not quite sure I’d call it rural (DeKalb is in the Elgin Metro Division of the Chicago CSA), but if you take Roosevelt out of the city for long enough, you’ll run right into this. On the left before the train tracks.
Niche, but could be helpful for some of you.
iPad mini, this app, USB-C-to-HDMI mini capture dongle—headless server monitor, when you need it (I often do). Or you can use it as a remote camera monitor. Or with a Switch.
iPad mini, this app, USB-C-to-HDMI mini capture dongle—headless server monitor, when you need it (I often do). Or you can use it as a remote camera monitor. Or with a Switch.
Orion — HDMI Monitor for iPad
Orion: use iPad as an external HDMI monitor.
orion.tube
December 15, 2025 at 10:52 PM
Niche, but could be helpful for some of you.
iPad mini, this app, USB-C-to-HDMI mini capture dongle—headless server monitor, when you need it (I often do). Or you can use it as a remote camera monitor. Or with a Switch.
iPad mini, this app, USB-C-to-HDMI mini capture dongle—headless server monitor, when you need it (I often do). Or you can use it as a remote camera monitor. Or with a Switch.
Things I should be doing: Grading
Things I am doing: Going through a massive infrastructure upgrade on my home server
Things I am doing: Going through a massive infrastructure upgrade on my home server
December 15, 2025 at 10:42 PM
Things I should be doing: Grading
Things I am doing: Going through a massive infrastructure upgrade on my home server
Things I am doing: Going through a massive infrastructure upgrade on my home server
For some reason, I have been thinking about how I would explain my tech stack to someone else (no idea why).
It used to be horribly complicated.
Now it's just R/Positron, Obsidian, Things3. I can do nearly any project with just that.
It used to be horribly complicated.
Now it's just R/Positron, Obsidian, Things3. I can do nearly any project with just that.
December 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM
For some reason, I have been thinking about how I would explain my tech stack to someone else (no idea why).
It used to be horribly complicated.
Now it's just R/Positron, Obsidian, Things3. I can do nearly any project with just that.
It used to be horribly complicated.
Now it's just R/Positron, Obsidian, Things3. I can do nearly any project with just that.
Always fun when the feels like temp outside never gets above 0°F (-20°C).
December 14, 2025 at 8:33 PM
Always fun when the feels like temp outside never gets above 0°F (-20°C).
Between this and Tyler buying up all the other public sector enterprise software companies, there’s a huge need for publicly funded or FOSS public sector IT infrastructure. If FEMA wasn’t a mess, they’d be perfect to lead something like this (on the public safety side).
Private Equity Finds a New Source of Profit: Volunteer Fire Departments
www.nytimes.com
December 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Between this and Tyler buying up all the other public sector enterprise software companies, there’s a huge need for publicly funded or FOSS public sector IT infrastructure. If FEMA wasn’t a mess, they’d be perfect to lead something like this (on the public safety side).