Susannah Ribstein
@susannahribs.bsky.social
Realtor at Compass. Specializing in the communities of the South Side. South Shore resident. Real estate, architecture, preservation, parks advocacy 🔗 https://www.susannahribsteinrealty.com/
I didn't watch the entire conference but I am very confused by this push because the building is already being emptied? blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/07/a...
All Residents To Leave As Court Takes Control Of South Shore Building Raided By Feds
A county judge appointed a receiver for the troubled building Friday. The receiver will help its few remaining residents move “immediately.”
blockclubchicago.org
November 24, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I didn't watch the entire conference but I am very confused by this push because the building is already being emptied? blockclubchicago.org/2025/11/07/a...
Make sure to stay for the credits. They include 2 "Earth mothers," 6 "Humanist advisors," and one "Okunrin meta" (I had to Google it). Also the bagpipe score is mindblowing.
November 13, 2025 at 3:23 AM
Make sure to stay for the credits. They include 2 "Earth mothers," 6 "Humanist advisors," and one "Okunrin meta" (I had to Google it). Also the bagpipe score is mindblowing.
I watched this last night & it blew my mind!! Gorgeous & fascinating. Found this interview w the filmmakers about the Norwegian farm community where they filmed, the Nonpartisan League, & their Marxist filmmaking collective. All totally new info to me. filmmakermagazine.com/127545-inter...
“North Dakota is Trump Country Today”: John Hanson and Rob Nilsson on the 4K Restoration of Northern Lights
It would be easy to call 1979 a red letter Cannes for New Hollywood: Apocalypse Now got Francis Ford Coppola his second Palme d’Or (split with Volker Schlöndorff for The Tin Drum)…
filmmakermagazine.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:20 AM
I watched this last night & it blew my mind!! Gorgeous & fascinating. Found this interview w the filmmakers about the Norwegian farm community where they filmed, the Nonpartisan League, & their Marxist filmmaking collective. All totally new info to me. filmmakermagazine.com/127545-inter...
Yes, there were 4. Three at a distance, one (looked like CPD to me) hovering very low over the Powhatan, in front of which were some cruisers, at least one state police car. (Not saying it had anything to do w the building, just the location)
October 28, 2025 at 10:40 PM
Yes, there were 4. Three at a distance, one (looked like CPD to me) hovering very low over the Powhatan, in front of which were some cruisers, at least one state police car. (Not saying it had anything to do w the building, just the location)
Was also wondering about this as I drove northbound on LSD. There was some kind of police activity outside the Powhatan with a CPD helicopter very low over it.
October 28, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Was also wondering about this as I drove northbound on LSD. There was some kind of police activity outside the Powhatan with a CPD helicopter very low over it.
It's one thing when your GC makes some vague comments about how the crew has been a little thin lately. But I'm guessing there are a lot of people who were not ready for this kind of reminder that your home is their workplace is everyone's human rights & economic catastrophe.
October 24, 2025 at 6:32 PM
It's one thing when your GC makes some vague comments about how the crew has been a little thin lately. But I'm guessing there are a lot of people who were not ready for this kind of reminder that your home is their workplace is everyone's human rights & economic catastrophe.
...and unintentionally discourages the good ownership that's needed. Which leaves the entire market open for the revolving door of large-scale default & criminality that's described in this article. Also doesn't help that the biggest local landlord advocacy org is implicated here too 😑 (4/4)
October 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
...and unintentionally discourages the good ownership that's needed. Which leaves the entire market open for the revolving door of large-scale default & criminality that's described in this article. Also doesn't help that the biggest local landlord advocacy org is implicated here too 😑 (4/4)
The conversation I see happening in/around South Shore in the past few years feels heavily weighted on behavioral deterrence for landlords. Which simply won't work on the truly corrupt ownership who don't care about following laws... (3/4)
October 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
The conversation I see happening in/around South Shore in the past few years feels heavily weighted on behavioral deterrence for landlords. Which simply won't work on the truly corrupt ownership who don't care about following laws... (3/4)
I feel like housing legislation needs to be way more focused on proven, effective methods of encouraging local, hands-on ownership. Beyond just grants, which are notoriously hard to administrate & use. (2/4)
October 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I feel like housing legislation needs to be way more focused on proven, effective methods of encouraging local, hands-on ownership. Beyond just grants, which are notoriously hard to administrate & use. (2/4)
I'm not a policymaker so I don't really know! As I admitted in my last post in the thread. 😅 Unfortunately I realize they are probably way above the city level, including to tax policy. That said....(1/4)
October 21, 2025 at 5:57 PM
I'm not a policymaker so I don't really know! As I admitted in my last post in the thread. 😅 Unfortunately I realize they are probably way above the city level, including to tax policy. That said....(1/4)
The real issues, IMO, are the amt of inventory, lack of guardrails, & range of unintended tax consequences. Legislative protections are needed for the actual situation, not an imagined real estate boogeyman. I don't know the answers but I fear we're not even looking for them in the right places yet.
October 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The real issues, IMO, are the amt of inventory, lack of guardrails, & range of unintended tax consequences. Legislative protections are needed for the actual situation, not an imagined real estate boogeyman. I don't know the answers but I fear we're not even looking for them in the right places yet.
The greatest damage of "gentrification" in South Shore is mostly in these abstractions. Projects like the OPC & golf course might attract the eye of remote managers of multi-family housing portfolios who nuke assets & leave, but there's no luxury flip. No housing created for anyone, rich or poor
October 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
The greatest damage of "gentrification" in South Shore is mostly in these abstractions. Projects like the OPC & golf course might attract the eye of remote managers of multi-family housing portfolios who nuke assets & leave, but there's no luxury flip. No housing created for anyone, rich or poor
Overall this article shows an int'l network of disengaged, cynical, & often mentally ill operators using South Shore as a friction-less playground for their balance sheets. I think local gov & advocates have so far failed to fully reckon w/ the scope & mechanisms of the havoc. We need so much more.
October 21, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Overall this article shows an int'l network of disengaged, cynical, & often mentally ill operators using South Shore as a friction-less playground for their balance sheets. I think local gov & advocates have so far failed to fully reckon w/ the scope & mechanisms of the havoc. We need so much more.
I'm not saying 1031 exchanges are inherently evil & they do serve a purpose. But I think understanding how extremely common they are & studying their unintended consequences is critical for regular ppl, legislators, & housing advocates to actually address the needs of a community like South Shore.
October 21, 2025 at 5:05 PM
I'm not saying 1031 exchanges are inherently evil & they do serve a purpose. But I think understanding how extremely common they are & studying their unintended consequences is critical for regular ppl, legislators, & housing advocates to actually address the needs of a community like South Shore.
7500 S. Shore was purchased via 1031 exchange. Rushed, low-stakes, low-information, high-dollar purchases (actually just swaps) are a recipe for disaster when the human difficulties of low-income housing are involved. Not to mention depriving the state of taxes. www.investopedia.com/financial-ed...
What Is a 1031 Exchange? Know the Rules
Discover the 10 essential rules for using a 1031 exchange: timing deadlines, like-kind property requirements, tax deferral, what qualifies, and frequent pitfalls to avoid.
www.investopedia.com
October 21, 2025 at 5:05 PM
7500 S. Shore was purchased via 1031 exchange. Rushed, low-stakes, low-information, high-dollar purchases (actually just swaps) are a recipe for disaster when the human difficulties of low-income housing are involved. Not to mention depriving the state of taxes. www.investopedia.com/financial-ed...
Just about a week ago a client worried to me about tariffs on fixtures for a bathroom rehab and I suggested Rebuilding Exchange as a solution. 😔
October 19, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Just about a week ago a client worried to me about tariffs on fixtures for a bathroom rehab and I suggested Rebuilding Exchange as a solution. 😔
I dunno what was in the rest of the interview but as a member of the SSCC PAC, many community members are *extremely* interested in having them fixed, to this day. Not for the cops, just cuz having them crumble is so insulting. Hairston continually, proudly missing the point...
October 14, 2025 at 11:45 PM
I dunno what was in the rest of the interview but as a member of the SSCC PAC, many community members are *extremely* interested in having them fixed, to this day. Not for the cops, just cuz having them crumble is so insulting. Hairston continually, proudly missing the point...
My thoughts exactly
October 3, 2025 at 4:20 PM
My thoughts exactly
By "vacant" I meant no rent being paid.
October 2, 2025 at 10:04 PM
By "vacant" I meant no rent being paid.
I see I'm not the only person who thought it was vacant.
October 2, 2025 at 8:14 PM
I see I'm not the only person who thought it was vacant.
(to be clear, I'm not minimizing the damage from the raid. just pointing out that the prior condition of the building was unusual, as is the fact that the feds were tipped off about it, & those 2 things likely are related)
October 2, 2025 at 6:47 PM
(to be clear, I'm not minimizing the damage from the raid. just pointing out that the prior condition of the building was unusual, as is the fact that the feds were tipped off about it, & those 2 things likely are related)
I took this picture on 9/14 because the building had had so many unboarded shattered windows for weeks. The raid is obviously the main story here, but the condition of this building beforehand was like nothing I've ever seen in an occupied property. (Without being inside. I assumed it was vacant.)
October 2, 2025 at 4:28 PM
I took this picture on 9/14 because the building had had so many unboarded shattered windows for weeks. The raid is obviously the main story here, but the condition of this building beforehand was like nothing I've ever seen in an occupied property. (Without being inside. I assumed it was vacant.)
This story is shocking & horrible on every level, one of them being that there were (& are?!?) rent-paying human beings living in that building. I took this picture on September 14th, because so many windows had been shattered & unboarded for months at that point.
October 2, 2025 at 4:06 PM
This story is shocking & horrible on every level, one of them being that there were (& are?!?) rent-paying human beings living in that building. I took this picture on September 14th, because so many windows had been shattered & unboarded for months at that point.