Ben LeRoy
@leroylanduse.bsky.social
Academic advisor and instructor at the University of Illinois. Former City of Champaign Zoning Administrator. Various roles APA-IL. Bikes, buses, trains, and walking.
Love this comic from r/uiuc. Ride the bus, it's great!
August 27, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Love this comic from r/uiuc. Ride the bus, it's great!
Love this man! Take names, bide your time, and restore justice.
Illinois Gov. Pritzker vows to pursue Trump officials who participate in an illegal National Guard deployment to Chicago:
"If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law."
"If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law."
August 25, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Love this man! Take names, bide your time, and restore justice.
I-L-L
I made a promise to the women of Illinois — as governor, I will ensure your medical decisions will be your own.
Now, we continue fulfilling that promise.
Public colleges will now provide contraception and medication abortion at on-campus pharmacies and student health centers.
Now, we continue fulfilling that promise.
Public colleges will now provide contraception and medication abortion at on-campus pharmacies and student health centers.
August 24, 2025 at 4:28 AM
I-L-L
jack white is so fucking real
Trump doesn't seem to see that some people are still immune to his threats.
Jack White criticized Trump's Oval Office decor. The White House then called White a "washed-up, has-been loser... masquerading as a real artist." And White, undeterred, posted an absolutely blistering takedown in response.
Jack White criticized Trump's Oval Office decor. The White House then called White a "washed-up, has-been loser... masquerading as a real artist." And White, undeterred, posted an absolutely blistering takedown in response.
August 24, 2025 at 3:14 AM
jack white is so fucking real
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
The *scale problem* explains so much about American commerce/land use/transportation:/housing. We are missing something like the bottom half of the "scale ladder" for almost everything - streets, vehicles, homes, commercial spaces. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/backyard-c...
Backyard Coffee And Jazz In Kyoto, Japan
A "magical" experience, and what we get when we let people pursue their passions
thedeletedscenes.substack.com
August 18, 2025 at 4:09 PM
The *scale problem* explains so much about American commerce/land use/transportation:/housing. We are missing something like the bottom half of the "scale ladder" for almost everything - streets, vehicles, homes, commercial spaces. thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/backyard-c...
I have been looking for just such a reading to assign to our incoming grad students for their upcoming orientation. Very timely post that aligns with my thinking on this subject. The work is the point!
After half a year of developments of AI in society I decided to go back, discuss my concerns, and think about how to respond to it.
August 13, 2025 at 3:09 AM
I have been looking for just such a reading to assign to our incoming grad students for their upcoming orientation. Very timely post that aligns with my thinking on this subject. The work is the point!
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
illinois gov. JB pritzker responds to ken paxton's threat to arrest TX democrats who fled the state: "they're here in illinois. we're going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them."
August 4, 2025 at 2:35 AM
illinois gov. JB pritzker responds to ken paxton's threat to arrest TX democrats who fled the state: "they're here in illinois. we're going to do everything we can to protect every single one of them."
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
If you're using AI to write essays, eulogies, a text to your wife, I do think less of you as a person. Ceding your mental and creative abilities to a machine is an embarrassing thing and people should be ashamed to admit doing it in public.
![[quoting a tweet by fractalcounty that reads, “today I learned that there are actual people irl who get genuinely upset if they catch you using chatgpt. like they view it as a serious moral failing in certain circles”]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hppum4l25hcczzffastsicpq/bafkreihjvnz2ttxl7z4a2b3a4kylubobgvqxmjhwz6yuetuztzoc4g2s4y@jpeg)
August 2, 2025 at 6:19 PM
If you're using AI to write essays, eulogies, a text to your wife, I do think less of you as a person. Ceding your mental and creative abilities to a machine is an embarrassing thing and people should be ashamed to admit doing it in public.
if you were a closer in major league baseball what would your entrance music be
August 2, 2025 at 7:28 PM
I frequently think about how the cool stuff you can buy for the price of one lift kit on a crew cab pickup truck with a stubby bed
I like even more a middle class that's spending its money on little urban luxuries rather than gasoline and bigger lawns
July 28, 2025 at 11:36 PM
I frequently think about how the cool stuff you can buy for the price of one lift kit on a crew cab pickup truck with a stubby bed
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
My alma maters are good at hitting people and arguing with them 💪
Here's YET EVEN MORE of our non-NCAA national champions for 2024/2025!
We have beer brewing, butter tasting, flag football, indoor tennis, mock trial, roller hockey, wool judging, and more!
We have beer brewing, butter tasting, flag football, indoor tennis, mock trial, roller hockey, wool judging, and more!
July 28, 2025 at 12:59 PM
My alma maters are good at hitting people and arguing with them 💪
Took my oldest to Shedd Aquarium and happily confirmed that she's not going to ask us to have a tarantula as a pet anytime soon
July 24, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Took my oldest to Shedd Aquarium and happily confirmed that she's not going to ask us to have a tarantula as a pet anytime soon
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
When you throw a dead fly in the trash you’re laying it to rest amongst a great fortune like a pharaoh
July 19, 2025 at 3:30 AM
When you throw a dead fly in the trash you’re laying it to rest amongst a great fortune like a pharaoh
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
It's hard to see this and not think of William Cronon's "Nature's Metropolis."
The final physical end of a huge moment in Chicago and US urban history: the commoditization of grain and its centralization by rail.
The final physical end of a huge moment in Chicago and US urban history: the commoditization of grain and its centralization by rail.
The Iconic Damen Silos Are Coming Down
Work at the McKinley Park site has been ahead of schedule, and crews started taking down the silos Friday morning.
Via @franciagarciah.bsky.social & @colinbphoto.bsky.social / @blockclubchi.bsky.social
blockclubchicago.org/2025/07/18/t...
Work at the McKinley Park site has been ahead of schedule, and crews started taking down the silos Friday morning.
Via @franciagarciah.bsky.social & @colinbphoto.bsky.social / @blockclubchi.bsky.social
blockclubchicago.org/2025/07/18/t...
July 18, 2025 at 4:47 PM
It's hard to see this and not think of William Cronon's "Nature's Metropolis."
The final physical end of a huge moment in Chicago and US urban history: the commoditization of grain and its centralization by rail.
The final physical end of a huge moment in Chicago and US urban history: the commoditization of grain and its centralization by rail.
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
“Then they started to talk about cuffing me, and that if the kids were here legally, what do they have to lose by answering. I told them that they still have their fifth and fourth amendment rights, and that they don’t have to speak to you or help with any investigation.”
A local NYC baseball coach says he fended off ICE agents during a recent practice.
Youman Wilder said caught feds questioning youth about where they're from & country of origin, so, he told feds to back off & kids to not answer!
Shoutout all of our local heroes!
Youman Wilder said caught feds questioning youth about where they're from & country of origin, so, he told feds to back off & kids to not answer!
Shoutout all of our local heroes!
A Baseball Coach Says He Fended Off ICE Agents Questioning Kids on the Upper West Side
The baseball field in Riverside Park near 72nd Street and Youman Wilder. Photo 1: Google Maps. Photo 2: Courtesy of
www.westsiderag.com
July 10, 2025 at 8:10 PM
“Then they started to talk about cuffing me, and that if the kids were here legally, what do they have to lose by answering. I told them that they still have their fifth and fourth amendment rights, and that they don’t have to speak to you or help with any investigation.”
I heard a guy do an acoustic cover of QOTSA's "No One Knows" at the Urbana Hootenanny after rambling around on my bike for an hour. What a city. Champaign for life but Urbana is so good.
July 8, 2025 at 3:13 AM
I heard a guy do an acoustic cover of QOTSA's "No One Knows" at the Urbana Hootenanny after rambling around on my bike for an hour. What a city. Champaign for life but Urbana is so good.
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
Shabbat Shalom to everyone who recognizes that the safety, freedom & thriving of Jews and Muslims are bound up together — in Israel & Palestine, across the five boroughs, and in many other beloved places.
Lander: "It's just gross, racist bigotry. Meanwhile he's running an optimistic, upbeat campaign for a NY where everybody belongs, and I feel proud as the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in NYC to be supporting somebody who would be the first Muslim mayor—what could be more NYC than that?"
June 27, 2025 at 8:59 PM
Shabbat Shalom to everyone who recognizes that the safety, freedom & thriving of Jews and Muslims are bound up together — in Israel & Palestine, across the five boroughs, and in many other beloved places.
Congrats to Meta for making this ad that inadvertently illustrates why their "personal AI" product is for incompetent morons
Your personal AI. The new Meta AI app.
YouTube video by Meta
www.youtube.com
June 27, 2025 at 8:22 PM
Congrats to Meta for making this ad that inadvertently illustrates why their "personal AI" product is for incompetent morons
Awesome!
🚨The North Carolina Legislature voted unanimously (107 to 0) to ban minimum parking requirements in new developments statewide.
June 26, 2025 at 1:48 AM
Awesome!
Watching Lander use his platform to hit this theme over the past few days is genuinely healing for my battered Jewish soul
June 25, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Watching Lander use his platform to hit this theme over the past few days is genuinely healing for my battered Jewish soul
After 12ish yrs of practicing as a planner and teaching land use law, I am still mystified by the way housing proposals in California aren't bound by the categories of "zoning compliant" & "non-conforming" but can also be some weird quantum category simultaneously both and neither of the above.
It means that lawyered-up NIMBYs won't be able to slow down and block zoning-compliant infill housing with bad-faith lawsuits anymore.
June 25, 2025 at 12:07 AM
After 12ish yrs of practicing as a planner and teaching land use law, I am still mystified by the way housing proposals in California aren't bound by the categories of "zoning compliant" & "non-conforming" but can also be some weird quantum category simultaneously both and neither of the above.
This is why APA and its chapters need to stop giving awards to recently adopted plans and start giving awards to plans that are 5+ years old. Reward the combo of aspiration and implementation, not aspiration alone.
I feel like half of planning documents are just high-level aspirational maps and policies that consultants make that never make it to the built form.
And there are like 50+ versions of this document in different jurisdiction, levels of government, and spans of time.
And there are like 50+ versions of this document in different jurisdiction, levels of government, and spans of time.
June 24, 2025 at 12:30 AM
This is why APA and its chapters need to stop giving awards to recently adopted plans and start giving awards to plans that are 5+ years old. Reward the combo of aspiration and implementation, not aspiration alone.
Reposted by Ben LeRoy
This is a kiddish hashem and honestly it feels nice to be able say that about a public performance of Judaism
Brad Lander via @jfrejnyc.bsky.social on Insta: “I am proud as a Jewish New Yorker to be on that slate alongside a Muslim New Yorker. Jewish New Yorkers and Muslim New Yorkers are not going to be divided against each other. Our safety, our freedoms, our thriving are bound up together.”
June 23, 2025 at 2:23 AM
This is a kiddish hashem and honestly it feels nice to be able say that about a public performance of Judaism