Daniel Kay Hertz
@danielkayhertz.bsky.social
Personal account. Housing Director at Impact for Equity, a law and policy center in Chicago. Former policy director, Chicago Dept of Housing. Book "The Battle of Lincoln Park" on the origins of gentrification in Chicago.
https://daniel-kay-hertz.ghost.io/
https://daniel-kay-hertz.ghost.io/
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
Grace Manor Apartments has opened in North Lawndale, bringing 65 affordable units to Ogden Avenue. blockclubchi.co/3JUuXFU
November 15, 2025 at 2:00 AM
Grace Manor Apartments has opened in North Lawndale, bringing 65 affordable units to Ogden Avenue. blockclubchi.co/3JUuXFU
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
There's a tendency among a certain type of poster to assume everything they hate about politics and the state can be blamed on avarice, and I'm here to tell you it's actually worse than that.
I continue to disagree with this. The goal of mass detention is mass deportations. A private prison company leasing 100 beds to ICE gets paid the same if the beds are filled by 100 people for a year each or 1,000 people for a few days each. They don't earn more with long-term detention.
It's not about deporting them. It's about detaining them indefinitely and enriching Prisons for Profiteers and the grift the Convict in the Oval Office collects per detainee.
November 13, 2025 at 10:29 PM
There's a tendency among a certain type of poster to assume everything they hate about politics and the state can be blamed on avarice, and I'm here to tell you it's actually worse than that.
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
Wrote about the other big outcome of the NYC election and how Chicago moved in the other direction
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
Marisa Novara and Daniel Kay Hertz: New York nixes veto power over housing while Chicago unwisely doubles down
The recent granny flat fight in Chicago is an example of the city upholding a tradition that has held back affordable housing.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Wrote about the other big outcome of the NYC election and how Chicago moved in the other direction
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
this is a good piece. seattle couldn't tackle broader urbanism issues or affordable housing until we liberalized ADU reform
Wrote about the other big outcome of the NYC election and how Chicago moved in the other direction
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
Marisa Novara and Daniel Kay Hertz: New York nixes veto power over housing while Chicago unwisely doubles down
The recent granny flat fight in Chicago is an example of the city upholding a tradition that has held back affordable housing.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:19 PM
this is a good piece. seattle couldn't tackle broader urbanism issues or affordable housing until we liberalized ADU reform
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
“But while New York is deciding to part ways with a tradition that has held back affordable housing, the recent fight over ADUs is an example of Chicago doubling down on it.”
map shows that tradition in action, there are so many different sets of rules for homeowners based on who your alder is
map shows that tradition in action, there are so many different sets of rules for homeowners based on who your alder is
November 13, 2025 at 3:09 PM
“But while New York is deciding to part ways with a tradition that has held back affordable housing, the recent fight over ADUs is an example of Chicago doubling down on it.”
map shows that tradition in action, there are so many different sets of rules for homeowners based on who your alder is
map shows that tradition in action, there are so many different sets of rules for homeowners based on who your alder is
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
My last big story for the year is up at @dwell.bsky.social: I spoke with ~a dozen millennials who left big cities during or after the pandemic. What I found was a lot of people trying to redefine what ‘upward mobility’ might mean: www.dwell.com/article/rura...
The Millennials Who Ditched Cities During the Pandemic Would Like a Word
As a result of Covid, many young people moved in search of more affordable lifestyles. But in today’s America, is there any place left where you can have it all?
www.dwell.com
November 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM
My last big story for the year is up at @dwell.bsky.social: I spoke with ~a dozen millennials who left big cities during or after the pandemic. What I found was a lot of people trying to redefine what ‘upward mobility’ might mean: www.dwell.com/article/rura...
Wrote about the other big outcome of the NYC election and how Chicago moved in the other direction
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
Marisa Novara and Daniel Kay Hertz: New York nixes veto power over housing while Chicago unwisely doubles down
The recent granny flat fight in Chicago is an example of the city upholding a tradition that has held back affordable housing.
www.chicagotribune.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:04 PM
Wrote about the other big outcome of the NYC election and how Chicago moved in the other direction
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/13/o...
It is depressing to see how many people are willing to defend elected officials actively deceiving their own constituents for the sake of parochial power
November 13, 2025 at 7:17 AM
It is depressing to see how many people are willing to defend elected officials actively deceiving their own constituents for the sake of parochial power
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
... I am entirely sure this is a bad thing. It makes me a less effective political agent, but much more importantly it makes me a worse person. I suspect I'm not alone in this.
November 13, 2025 at 6:53 AM
... I am entirely sure this is a bad thing. It makes me a less effective political agent, but much more importantly it makes me a worse person. I suspect I'm not alone in this.
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
... their high human capital wing (their political staff, legal workers, industry elites), such as it is, seems to crucially rely on recruiting from bitter losers who have adopted hateful yet pathetic self serving delusions to cover for their failure to achieve success in an expanded meritocracy...
November 13, 2025 at 6:53 AM
... their high human capital wing (their political staff, legal workers, industry elites), such as it is, seems to crucially rely on recruiting from bitter losers who have adopted hateful yet pathetic self serving delusions to cover for their failure to achieve success in an expanded meritocracy...
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
With genuine shame, recent years in politics have given me my first taste for what it is to have moralised contempt for my opponents. Not hatred, not fear; contempt. There's some core element of the right wing coalition at the moment which seems to me best described as a revolt of the loser men...
November 13, 2025 at 6:53 AM
With genuine shame, recent years in politics have given me my first taste for what it is to have moralised contempt for my opponents. Not hatred, not fear; contempt. There's some core element of the right wing coalition at the moment which seems to me best described as a revolt of the loser men...
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
It all would have been much easier if, as would have happened if we were remotely a serious country, it all ended with the Access Hollywood interview.
November 13, 2025 at 3:46 AM
It all would have been much easier if, as would have happened if we were remotely a serious country, it all ended with the Access Hollywood interview.
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
“By cutting aid for permanent housing by 2/3 next year, the plan risks a sudden end of support… beginning as soon as January. All are disabled — a condition of the aid — and many are 50 or older. The document does not explain how they would find housing.”
This is far worse than anyone expected.
Trump's HUD plan would cut *two-thirds* of permanent housing and push as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people back onto the street—redirecting funds to work mandates, forced treatment, and encampment sweeps.
All as mass internment camps are being built.
Trump's HUD plan would cut *two-thirds* of permanent housing and push as many as 170,000 formerly homeless people back onto the street—redirecting funds to work mandates, forced treatment, and encampment sweeps.
All as mass internment camps are being built.
Trump Administration to Drastically Cut Housing Grants
www.nytimes.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:05 AM
“By cutting aid for permanent housing by 2/3 next year, the plan risks a sudden end of support… beginning as soon as January. All are disabled — a condition of the aid — and many are 50 or older. The document does not explain how they would find housing.”
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win. Please do repeat this insight.
BREAKING: At Pope Leo XIV’s urging, U.S. Catholic bishops just delivered the strongest rebuke of a sitting president in Church history — condemning Trump-Vance raids as “inhumane” and “dehumanizing” in a 216–5 vote.
NEW: At Pope Leo’s Urging, Bishops Issue Historic Rebuke of Trump’s Raids
Nearly all U.S. Catholic bishops united in Baltimore to denounce the Trump administration’s “inhumane” deportation campaign — a near-unanimous, unprecedented moral stand against a sitting president.
www.thelettersfromleo.com
November 13, 2025 at 4:02 AM
I do not regret to inform you that we are going to win. Please do repeat this insight.
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
Only two states — California and New Hampshire — provide levels of support for families compared to Canadian provinces.
Two reforms can help! 🇺🇸🇨🇦
Two reforms can help! 🇺🇸🇨🇦
November 12, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Only two states — California and New Hampshire — provide levels of support for families compared to Canadian provinces.
Two reforms can help! 🇺🇸🇨🇦
Two reforms can help! 🇺🇸🇨🇦
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed 4 years ago. In new research @urbaninstitute.bsky.social we study its effects.
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
Federal Infrastructure Spending on Transportation, Four Years after the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is up for reauthorization in 2026. New analysis shows that the act increased spending on transportation infrastructure, but…
www.urban.org
November 12, 2025 at 5:32 PM
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed 4 years ago. In new research @urbaninstitute.bsky.social we study its effects.
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
US transport spending increased by 30%, but:
—Funding for non-highway projects flatlined
—Construction cost increases resulted in no actual increase in infrastructure
Evanston running a clinic on blue government housing dysfunction
Geracaris "we need to get to a point where we know what we want built and where and then we just allow that"
YEP.
Rogers "everybody wants to just give this one away. Smaller projects have provided more public benefits"
THIS IS HOW YOU GET A HOUSING CRISIS.
YEP.
Rogers "everybody wants to just give this one away. Smaller projects have provided more public benefits"
THIS IS HOW YOU GET A HOUSING CRISIS.
November 11, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Evanston running a clinic on blue government housing dysfunction
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
"This isn’t a maintenance bill. It’s a systems-building bill. And it positions Illinois to do something few American states have attempted: build a modern, frequent, interconnected railway network that treats mobility as essential infrastructure rather than a social service."
A striking innovation in the Illinois Transit Bill is the explicit embrace of “regional rail”—a term that signals a complete departure from the commuter rail model that has defined suburban train service for over a century www.hsrail.org/blog/illinoi...
Illinois Quietly Rewrote the Rules: Intercity Rail is Now Transit | High Speed Rail Alliance
This new bill positions Illinois to build a modern, frequent, interconnected railway network that treats mobility as essential infrastructure
www.hsrail.org
November 11, 2025 at 2:39 AM
"This isn’t a maintenance bill. It’s a systems-building bill. And it positions Illinois to do something few American states have attempted: build a modern, frequent, interconnected railway network that treats mobility as essential infrastructure rather than a social service."
A developer is offering to do 1/3 more affordable units than required—and 130% more than have been produced in the 18 year history of Evanston’s policy—for zero actual budget outlay from the city, and Council is saying do less
Kelly says she asked about seeing it at the 15%, less tax discounted level, rather than the 20% level. Developer guy behind me sighs *heavily*.
Kelly should propose big projects she likes. Pitch proactive upzonings of the sites. Or hell, support quadplexes everywhere. Oh wait.
Kelly should propose big projects she likes. Pitch proactive upzonings of the sites. Or hell, support quadplexes everywhere. Oh wait.
November 11, 2025 at 2:36 AM
A developer is offering to do 1/3 more affordable units than required—and 130% more than have been produced in the 18 year history of Evanston’s policy—for zero actual budget outlay from the city, and Council is saying do less
Evanston city council is actively telling a developer to do less affordability
Kelly says she asked about seeing it at the 15%, less tax discounted level, rather than the 20% level. Developer guy behind me sighs *heavily*.
Kelly should propose big projects she likes. Pitch proactive upzonings of the sites. Or hell, support quadplexes everywhere. Oh wait.
Kelly should propose big projects she likes. Pitch proactive upzonings of the sites. Or hell, support quadplexes everywhere. Oh wait.
November 11, 2025 at 2:32 AM
Evanston city council is actively telling a developer to do less affordability
lol
suffredin asks if the project will be contributing to D65. developer asks "...beyond property taxes?" suffredin says "yes" developer says "no."
November 11, 2025 at 2:31 AM
lol
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
The city of Evanston is looking at 1% real estate transfer tax to fund a property tax circuit breaker program. ~63% of their housing cost burdened residents are renters.
To qualify, residents will need to have lived in their home for 15+ yrs and spend 5% or more of their income on property tax
To qualify, residents will need to have lived in their home for 15+ yrs and spend 5% or more of their income on property tax
November 10, 2025 at 5:06 PM
The city of Evanston is looking at 1% real estate transfer tax to fund a property tax circuit breaker program. ~63% of their housing cost burdened residents are renters.
To qualify, residents will need to have lived in their home for 15+ yrs and spend 5% or more of their income on property tax
To qualify, residents will need to have lived in their home for 15+ yrs and spend 5% or more of their income on property tax
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
The Republican Senate majority is built on minority rule, enabled by unequal representation & the two-party system.
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
November 10, 2025 at 1:12 PM
The Republican Senate majority is built on minority rule, enabled by unequal representation & the two-party system.
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
The GOP hasn’t won more total votes or represented more people than Dems since the 1990s. They’ve won the Senate in 7 of 13 elections since 2000 anyway
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
Reposted by Daniel Kay Hertz
In 2018, then-Mayor Ada Colau called Barcelona’s new 30% inclusionary housing requirement for projects over 600m^2 a “paradigm shift,” making housing “a right and not a commodity.” It was supposed to produce 330 affordable units a year. The reality: just 31 affordable apartments in all these years.
Cuando se ha aprobó esta medida dije repetidamente que iba a ser un fracaso y que no construirían nada de vivienda asequible. Se ha probado en mil sitios y no funciona.
Acerté. www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcel...
Acerté. www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcel...
La reserva del 30% solo ha generado 31 nuevas viviendas protegidas en siete años en Barcelona
Otros 123 pisos disponen de licencia ya aprobada, mientras los gremios afectados reclaman un marco legal estable para poder despertar al sector de su letargo
www.lavanguardia.com
November 9, 2025 at 6:28 PM
In 2018, then-Mayor Ada Colau called Barcelona’s new 30% inclusionary housing requirement for projects over 600m^2 a “paradigm shift,” making housing “a right and not a commodity.” It was supposed to produce 330 affordable units a year. The reality: just 31 affordable apartments in all these years.
Far, far from the cruelest or dumbest thing they’ve done but it is maybe the one that most clearly has no motivation except for “we want what’s worst for everyone”
The I.R.S. is shutting down its free online system for filing tax returns, a program that the Biden administration introduced last year and that users gave high marks.
via @tarasiegelbernard.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/b...
via @tarasiegelbernard.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/06/b...
I.R.S. Halts Free Online Offering for Filing Taxes Directly
www.nytimes.com
November 9, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Far, far from the cruelest or dumbest thing they’ve done but it is maybe the one that most clearly has no motivation except for “we want what’s worst for everyone”