William Skudlarek
@willskud.bsky.social
Building codes, housing, transit, former (recovering?) CPA from Chicago
Reposted by William Skudlarek
Weird request: anybody in Minneapolis want to take a field trip and look at a stairway for me? 630 Cedar Ave. S. had a big fire, and has scissor stairs. The state report about the fire implies that the stairways were open to one another (no wall separating them) – I'd like to confirm that was true.
November 14, 2025 at 10:16 PM
Weird request: anybody in Minneapolis want to take a field trip and look at a stairway for me? 630 Cedar Ave. S. had a big fire, and has scissor stairs. The state report about the fire implies that the stairways were open to one another (no wall separating them) – I'd like to confirm that was true.
Reposted by William Skudlarek
Coming from a Chicago perspective, I would kill to have NYC's transit leadership and governance structure here. There are so many things in here that Janno talks about that I would love to do in Chicago. Hopefully the transit bill succeeds in getting us closer to NY.
It sounds like Janno Lieber really does not like Andy Byford nyeditorialboard.substack.com/p/janno-lieb...
Janno Lieber on Free Buses, the State of the MTA, & The Promise of the Interborough Express
The New York Editorial Board's interview with MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.
nyeditorialboard.substack.com
November 2, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Coming from a Chicago perspective, I would kill to have NYC's transit leadership and governance structure here. There are so many things in here that Janno talks about that I would love to do in Chicago. Hopefully the transit bill succeeds in getting us closer to NY.
Tangentially: Why do so many French people visit NYC??? Without fail, I have heard French being spoken within 24 hours of landing in NYC. I have not heard any other non-English/Spanish people, just French.
Why are European tourists always taking pictures of squirrels
November 2, 2025 at 12:52 AM
Tangentially: Why do so many French people visit NYC??? Without fail, I have heard French being spoken within 24 hours of landing in NYC. I have not heard any other non-English/Spanish people, just French.
With the transit bill being effective 6/1/26, I do wonder what the “legacy” boards will do before then.
Are they still going ahead with the fare hikes? The 1-year freeze only starts on 6/1.
Not clear on how much of the $$ becomes available on 6/1, will Paratransit & CTA need $$ before then?
Are they still going ahead with the fare hikes? The 1-year freeze only starts on 6/1.
Not clear on how much of the $$ becomes available on 6/1, will Paratransit & CTA need $$ before then?
October 31, 2025 at 7:20 PM
With the transit bill being effective 6/1/26, I do wonder what the “legacy” boards will do before then.
Are they still going ahead with the fare hikes? The 1-year freeze only starts on 6/1.
Not clear on how much of the $$ becomes available on 6/1, will Paratransit & CTA need $$ before then?
Are they still going ahead with the fare hikes? The 1-year freeze only starts on 6/1.
Not clear on how much of the $$ becomes available on 6/1, will Paratransit & CTA need $$ before then?
Rereading the transit bill language, saw a provision I don’t think has been discussed much. It forces Metra to ditch its noncompete agreement with NICTD, meaning you could take South Shore trains for trips that start and end in Chicago. I suspect Rep. Buckner added it. @starlinechicago.bsky.social
October 31, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Rereading the transit bill language, saw a provision I don’t think has been discussed much. It forces Metra to ditch its noncompete agreement with NICTD, meaning you could take South Shore trains for trips that start and end in Chicago. I suspect Rep. Buckner added it. @starlinechicago.bsky.social
New details about transit funding in line with what Mary Ann Ahern and Paris Schutz were saying
UPDATE: We now have a good outline of where the $1.5 billion transit revenues will come from. Check the highlighted paragraph at the link capitolfax.com/2025/10/30/e...
October 30, 2025 at 11:29 PM
New details about transit funding in line with what Mary Ann Ahern and Paris Schutz were saying
Looks like there are signs of life for the transit bill nitter.net/paschutz/sta...
nitter.net
October 30, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Looks like there are signs of life for the transit bill nitter.net/paschutz/sta...
idk this seems sort of insane. Fire Dept. has access to plan docs but neglects to inform the developer that they have jurisdiction but they don’t realize it until inspecting the building and then tell them to rip things out??? And then proceed to blame the builder??
October 30, 2025 at 3:57 AM
idk this seems sort of insane. Fire Dept. has access to plan docs but neglects to inform the developer that they have jurisdiction but they don’t realize it until inspecting the building and then tell them to rip things out??? And then proceed to blame the builder??
I can live with the streaming tax but the loss of the 15-vote override is a bitter pill to swallow especially considering the legislature doesn't need a 60% threshold. Maybe the Senate can bring it back.
Other major changes relative to HB3438:
• CTA board back to 7 seats (2 Gov, 2 Cook, 3 city)
• 15-vote “veto override” threshold is out, “supermajority” is 12/20 with at least 2 from each faction
• On NITA, Governor only gets 3 seats; other two state seats now appointed by Speaker & Senate Prez
• CTA board back to 7 seats (2 Gov, 2 Cook, 3 city)
• 15-vote “veto override” threshold is out, “supermajority” is 12/20 with at least 2 from each faction
• On NITA, Governor only gets 3 seats; other two state seats now appointed by Speaker & Senate Prez
October 29, 2025 at 4:10 AM
I can live with the streaming tax but the loss of the 15-vote override is a bitter pill to swallow especially considering the legislature doesn't need a 60% threshold. Maybe the Senate can bring it back.
An upside [for Canadians] to the deterioration in the Canada-US relationship is that Ottawa is now more open to the idea of adopting EU standards over US ones. Hopefully this continues to building standards as well.
motorillustrated.com/volkswagen-c...
motorillustrated.com/volkswagen-c...
Volkswagen Canada is Open to Bringing More European Models to Canada if Ottawa allows it - Motor Illustrated
Trade tensions with the United States have led to a push for Transport Canada to review its vehicle safety standards. This could allow automakers to import more models certified for sale in Europe, Ja...
motorillustrated.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:45 AM
An upside [for Canadians] to the deterioration in the Canada-US relationship is that Ottawa is now more open to the idea of adopting EU standards over US ones. Hopefully this continues to building standards as well.
motorillustrated.com/volkswagen-c...
motorillustrated.com/volkswagen-c...
"On the Amtrak route between Washington, D.C., and New York City, the highest-trafficked stretch of train track in the country, there are no grade crossings. The last one was eliminated in the 1980s.
There are 331 grade crossings along the Brightline route in South Florida."
There are 331 grade crossings along the Brightline route in South Florida."
A ‘Death Train’ Is Haunting South Florida
The Brightline has been hailed as the future of high-speed rail in the United States, but it has one big, unignorable problem.
www.theatlantic.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:16 AM
"On the Amtrak route between Washington, D.C., and New York City, the highest-trafficked stretch of train track in the country, there are no grade crossings. The last one was eliminated in the 1980s.
There are 331 grade crossings along the Brightline route in South Florida."
There are 331 grade crossings along the Brightline route in South Florida."
This is just letting perfect being the enemy of (very) good. They're going to be used to create a new commuter rail operation for god sake! and Caltrain gets some cash. www.trains.com/pro/regulato...
California governor signs bill banning resale of retired diesel rail equipment - Trains
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law a bill prohibiting state agencies from reselling or otherwise transferring older diesel-powered rail equipment after it has been d...
www.trains.com
October 16, 2025 at 8:41 PM
This is just letting perfect being the enemy of (very) good. They're going to be used to create a new commuter rail operation for god sake! and Caltrain gets some cash. www.trains.com/pro/regulato...
This is the most important quote of the article for me. With the recent reduction in the funding gap, I was hoping this was a possibility as I don't want the governance reforms watered-down just to get to 60% if we don't need it to take effect right away. Glad to hear that is under consideration.
October 11, 2025 at 10:59 PM
This is the most important quote of the article for me. With the recent reduction in the funding gap, I was hoping this was a possibility as I don't want the governance reforms watered-down just to get to 60% if we don't need it to take effect right away. Glad to hear that is under consideration.
Lots of examples of tribalism in early building code history
October 4, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Lots of examples of tribalism in early building code history
Join me as I live-tweet (live-post?) my thoughts reading a book I don’t think has been discussed much in building code circles lately, “The Building Code Burden”, published 1975. It is one of the most-cited works outlining how the US building codes can inflate construction costs.
September 21, 2025 at 1:55 AM
Join me as I live-tweet (live-post?) my thoughts reading a book I don’t think has been discussed much in building code circles lately, “The Building Code Burden”, published 1975. It is one of the most-cited works outlining how the US building codes can inflate construction costs.