🐀 Who is flocking to the ‘rat hole?’

Where Did Migrant Money Go?

In October, the city projected it would spend more than $360 million in 2023 to care for the thousands of asylum-seekers living in Chicago, but Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration says it only spent $138 million. What does this mean for the city’s plans to house migrants in 2024? [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

Bears Coaching Updates

Head coach Matt Eberflus will be back next year, but offensive coordinator Luke Getsy is out. What type of offensive identity will the Bears want next season? [ESPN]

This Week’s Must-See

Everyone has been freaking out over the “rat hole” in Roscoe Village, our latest tourist destination. *Sigh* I will never understand this city’s obsession with rats. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

We surveyed how Hey Chicago readers and City Cast Chicago listeners feel about dibs, the local wintertime tradition where Chicagoans reserve their shoveled-out parking spots with random objects. While most were for the controversial practice, not everyone was.

For Dibs

Jason F.: “Dibs is essential. I use orange traffic cones connected by a 2x4. Someone once stole my dibs, and they were greeted with their car covered in water that froze and all the removed snow placed back onto the spot. If you're going to be about that dibs-stealing life, you have to deal with the consequences.”

Deb K.: “Until the city plows the side streets clean, this is not going to end soon. … You shovel it, it's yours.”

Against Dibs

Megan: “I’m so tired of people trying to justify dibs and trying to equate it with responsible neighborly behavior — that’s ludicrous. … This is coming from someone who had their tires slashed because I parked in a dibs spot [20 years ago]. … I couldn’t believe one of my neighbors could be so cruel."

Sarah A.: “Against it unless you have a disability that makes shoveling difficult. If everyone shoveled their spots, then the entire street would be clear and no one would have to worry. If you don't pay for parking, it should be open to everyone.”

Weirdest Dibs

Lisa O.: “One of my neighbors used to put a portable toilet down for dibs — that’s one I would never move.”

Nick H.: “After 20 years in Chicago, I can say every year is something new. One year mattresses were laid out on the ground. … The weirdest was probably the row of three painted mannequins standing next to each other in the street, each painted ‘dibs.’”

What’s Behind the Migrant Funding Gap?

WTTW’s Heather Cherone is here with receipts to help us make sense of the city’s spending plan, what’s next for convicted former Alder Ed. Burke, a planned strike at Second City, and more.