AJ LaTrace
@latrace.bsky.social
Chicago-based real estate reporter and editor currently at RealEstateNews.com
Previously: Business Insider, Chicago magazine, Curbed
aj at realestatenews dot com
Previously: Business Insider, Chicago magazine, Curbed
aj at realestatenews dot com
Be careful out there if you have a small breed dog. These coyotes keep trailing us and are trying to split up and come at us at different angles but I don‘t think a 75 lb Akita mix will be an easy snack for them, but a smaller pet might be. They’re sneaky little guys!
December 5, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Be careful out there if you have a small breed dog. These coyotes keep trailing us and are trying to split up and come at us at different angles but I don‘t think a 75 lb Akita mix will be an easy snack for them, but a smaller pet might be. They’re sneaky little guys!
The coyotes are out and about in Clark Park this evening.
December 5, 2025 at 12:55 AM
The coyotes are out and about in Clark Park this evening.
Oh man, we have a whole family of the IKEA pandas. They really are the best.
December 4, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Oh man, we have a whole family of the IKEA pandas. They really are the best.
The good guys were framed by the bad guys and the bad guys were trying to catch and kill the good guys. Pretty scary stuff indeed.
December 4, 2025 at 1:46 AM
The good guys were framed by the bad guys and the bad guys were trying to catch and kill the good guys. Pretty scary stuff indeed.
Zootopia 2 ended up being too scary, so now we’re just hanging in the lounge having popcorn.
December 4, 2025 at 1:41 AM
Zootopia 2 ended up being too scary, so now we’re just hanging in the lounge having popcorn.
Gotta love the snow dogs living their best life in the snow! This snow dog loves the snow. (The child though? Not so much.)
December 2, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Gotta love the snow dogs living their best life in the snow! This snow dog loves the snow. (The child though? Not so much.)
For anyone who's been on the fence about getting a cargo bike or are on a super tight budget, the Mongoose Envoy is only $420 right now for Black Friday. That's going to be about as cheap as you'll find a brand new cargo bike. I have one and love it.
www.mongoose.com/products/env...
www.mongoose.com/products/env...
November 27, 2025 at 7:23 PM
For anyone who's been on the fence about getting a cargo bike or are on a super tight budget, the Mongoose Envoy is only $420 right now for Black Friday. That's going to be about as cheap as you'll find a brand new cargo bike. I have one and love it.
www.mongoose.com/products/env...
www.mongoose.com/products/env...
Someone shared an interior progress shot of the Thompson Center on Reddit. Just sharing here in case the OP deletes the original thread and photo. It looks like all of the upper office levels are enclosed, but the big atrium space will live on.
www.reddit.com/r/chicago/co...
www.reddit.com/r/chicago/co...
November 27, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Someone shared an interior progress shot of the Thompson Center on Reddit. Just sharing here in case the OP deletes the original thread and photo. It looks like all of the upper office levels are enclosed, but the big atrium space will live on.
www.reddit.com/r/chicago/co...
www.reddit.com/r/chicago/co...
Some more Gen X music here. I've resisted donating or tossing my old CD collection thus far, but it would be funny for my old skate punk and Midwest emo CDs to end up on the shelves of a thrift store some day.
November 13, 2025 at 1:40 AM
Some more Gen X music here. I've resisted donating or tossing my old CD collection thus far, but it would be funny for my old skate punk and Midwest emo CDs to end up on the shelves of a thrift store some day.
I'll always take a quick look at CDs at thrift stores, but in this case, I had this weird morbid feeling of wondering if this was a Gen X'ers old CD collection who passed away and all of their stuff ended up in the thrift store. Or maybe someone just felt like it was just time to toss the CDs. 🤷♂️
November 13, 2025 at 1:37 AM
I'll always take a quick look at CDs at thrift stores, but in this case, I had this weird morbid feeling of wondering if this was a Gen X'ers old CD collection who passed away and all of their stuff ended up in the thrift store. Or maybe someone just felt like it was just time to toss the CDs. 🤷♂️
It felt like such a Chicago moment looking at photos of boilers and water pumps in this huge Polish cathedral.
November 10, 2025 at 4:45 PM
It felt like such a Chicago moment looking at photos of boilers and water pumps in this huge Polish cathedral.
Father Steve showing off one of St. Hyacinth Basilica's new boilers at the end of mass yesterday. Looks like they got it installed just in time, though he asked that we pray that the old water pump doesn't give up until the new one is installed next month.
November 10, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Father Steve showing off one of St. Hyacinth Basilica's new boilers at the end of mass yesterday. Looks like they got it installed just in time, though he asked that we pray that the old water pump doesn't give up until the new one is installed next month.
The Great Pyramids of Chicago
November 5, 2025 at 11:22 PM
The Great Pyramids of Chicago
We ended at Elmo‘s house and then went to Lobo for pizza. 😋 Definitely need to detox this coming week after all of the sugar and pizza.
November 3, 2025 at 4:03 AM
We ended at Elmo‘s house and then went to Lobo for pizza. 😋 Definitely need to detox this coming week after all of the sugar and pizza.
Gotta love the family who dressed up as Toy Story characters walking up to a house playing Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend In Me”
November 3, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Gotta love the family who dressed up as Toy Story characters walking up to a house playing Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend In Me”
Some pretty scary stuff for little kids! Nice work to the homeowners. 🫣
November 3, 2025 at 3:53 AM
Some pretty scary stuff for little kids! Nice work to the homeowners. 🫣
Some of the residents on Bernard take Halloween pretty seriously. This house had some very spooky decorations.
November 3, 2025 at 3:51 AM
Some of the residents on Bernard take Halloween pretty seriously. This house had some very spooky decorations.
We filled up our bucket within two blocks and the toddler was content with that. Ald. Quezada was generous with the candy also. 👻
November 3, 2025 at 3:48 AM
We filled up our bucket within two blocks and the toddler was content with that. Ald. Quezada was generous with the candy also. 👻
Some more shots from trick-or-treating around Bernard and Wrightwood. It was super busy over there but so much fun.
November 3, 2025 at 3:43 AM
Some more shots from trick-or-treating around Bernard and Wrightwood. It was super busy over there but so much fun.
Trying to make the most of these late autumn days. 🍂
November 3, 2025 at 3:38 AM
Trying to make the most of these late autumn days. 🍂
Halloween in Logan Square
November 1, 2025 at 1:38 AM
Halloween in Logan Square
Happy 10th Gotcha Day to my sweet, loving Lucy Poo
October 30, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Happy 10th Gotcha Day to my sweet, loving Lucy Poo
Good question... I'm not actually too sure. I'll have to start looking out for that. But with this part of Avondale (and Milwaukee Ave west of Central Park), I think a lot of the new development was due to the fact that Ariel Reboyras wasn't running again and basically approved every zoning change
October 23, 2025 at 2:02 AM
Good question... I'm not actually too sure. I'll have to start looking out for that. But with this part of Avondale (and Milwaukee Ave west of Central Park), I think a lot of the new development was due to the fact that Ariel Reboyras wasn't running again and basically approved every zoning change
This is not good for regular working people. Equifax requires a a FTC identity theft report to initiate an extended fraud alert.
October 23, 2025 at 1:51 AM
This is not good for regular working people. Equifax requires a a FTC identity theft report to initiate an extended fraud alert.
Moody skies, both day and night
October 22, 2025 at 1:33 AM
Moody skies, both day and night