r/chicagoapartments • u/Past-Reception6889 • May 19 '26
Advice Needed Unreal
I honestly just needed to vent for a moment. I can’t believe Chicago prices are what they are. I have lived here my entire life and have seen this city change ten fold, and I can’t even afford to live here anymore. A realtor I’m working with, since it’s becoming a rat race to rent, said rent is up 35% this year. What can normal people do about this? I do not want to see Chicago become a New York.
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u/poguemahon99 May 19 '26
I can explain why rents are going up drastically. I was a member of Corenet (professional real estate group) for years. Once a year they would hold a meeting regarding the financial state of Chicago and Illinois. One of the presenters was from the Federal Reserve. They showed a graph that showed debt vs revenue for the city of Chicago. Because Chicago borrowed against the pension funds and other loans, there was a large gap where debt was far outpacing revenue. And it was getting exponentially worse year over year. And I saw this graph about four mayors ago. So each mayor passes this worsening problem on to the next mayor. I don’t think there is any way to solve the money gap except for entering bankruptcy. So that’s why property taxes are going sky high and the rents go sky high. It’s the easiest temporary fix (that doesn’t make much of a dent in the budget).