📸 Green river vs. Chicagohenge

Conditions at City’s Migrant Shelters

Migrants have lodged nearly 250 grievances between June 2023 and January 2024. They say they've experienced discrimination, lack of cleanliness, and bad food. [WBEZ]

• The findings come after migrants reported inhumane and unsanitary conditions at the city’s largest shelter. [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

Tax Increment Financing 101

Mayor Brandon Johnson recently announced a plan to borrow $1.25 billion for housing and development investments, and he says the city will pay the debt by letting TIF districts expire. But what is TIF and why should you care? [City Cast Chicago 🎧]

Improve Internet Service

Take internet speed tests to help the state map out where to spend $1 billion to improve broadband internet service. There has been a discrepancy in internet speed between the North and South Sides. [Block Club]

Camp Out to See Eclipse in Illinois

Who is trying to see the total solar eclipse in April? Campers can register to stay at Du Quoin State Fairgrounds in southern Illinois April 5–9. [Illinois Department of Agriculture]

• Pick up other local stargazing tips from City Cast Chicago executive producer Simone Alicea. [Hey Chicago 💻]

Navy Pier’s Flyover Experience is Open

Ever want to see the Chicago Air & Water Show up close? How about a red carpet experience at the Chicago Theatre? The Flyover at Navy Pier takes Chicagoans on an immersive multi-sensory experience. [WTTW]

Last Week’s Winner

Answer: The Driehaus Museum. Check it out while exploring the new “Twin Flame, Double Ruin” exhibit! Susan H. was our random winner, and City Cast Chicago podcast host Jacoby Cochran helped pick the next round of trivia.

This Week’s Clues

While we celebrate Chicago being incorporated as a city 187 years ago today, that wouldn’t have happened without the first non-Native settler in the area: Jean Baptiste Point DuSable. Where is this bust of him?

• Created by artist Erik Blome in 2009.
• Located near the DuSable homestead.
• An adjacent bridge was also named after DuSable.
• Blome created an 8-foot version of the bronze bust to tour around Chicagoland. It was unveiled in Evanston in the fall.

Why Chicagoans Should Care About TIFs

TIF, or tax increment financing, is a municipal financing tool that uses property taxes to fund development in a specific area. And the city’s TIF districts have grown dramatically over the decades. University of Illinois Chicago urban planning professor Rachel Weber explains how TIFs work.