Realty check: Chicago's affordability problem
Good morning, Chicago. ✶
???? Below: Sean Grayson, a former sheriff's deputy convicted of murdering Sonya Massey in her Springfield-area home, was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison.
????️ Plus: CTU's push for remote learning ahead of a possible resurgence of immigration enforcement, why experts say a lack of affordability will define Chicago's housing market in 2026 and more news you need to know.
???? Keeping score: The Bulls lost to the Heat, 116-113; the Blackhawks fell to the Penguins, 6-2.
???? Subscribe: Get this newsletter delivered to your inbox weekday mornings.
⏱️: A 9-minute read
TODAY’S WEATHER ????️
Partly sunny with snow showers, a high near 19 and wind chill values as low as -6.
TODAY’S TOP STORY ????
Former downstate cop gets 20-year sentence for murdering Sonya Massey
By Mawa Iqbal
Prison sentence: Sean Grayson, a former sheriff’s deputy convicted of murdering Sonya Massey in her Springfield-area home, was sentenced Thursday to 20 years in prison, marking a capstone in a racially charged case of police brutality that drew national headlines.
Key context: A jury in October found Grayson, 31, guilty of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Massey, 36, in the face in July 2024. That was a lesser charge than the first-degree murder conviction Sangamon County prosecutors were originally seeking. The mother of two had called police to report a potential prowler outside her house. She was unarmed.
Courtoom scene: Massey’s friends and family — many wearing Sonya’s favorite color, purple — sat tightly packed in six rows of benches inside the Springfield courtroom. They erupted into cheers when Sangamon County Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin imposed the maximum sentence on Grayson.
IMMIGRATION ✶
Judge: Why is Trump administration still calling woman shot by Border Patrol ‘domestic terrorist’?
By Cindy Hernandez
Narrative questions: A federal judge said Thursday she was "hard-pressed" to understand why the Trump administration has yet to "change the narrative" around a U.S. Border Patrol agent’s shooting of a woman in Chicago, two months after prosecutors dropped an assault charge against her.
Key context: Marimar Martinez continues to be referred to as a "domestic terrorist" in a Homeland Security press release online, even though she no longer faces criminal charges. Martinez survived after Border Patrol agent Charles Exum shot her five times Oct. 4.
Tight timeline: U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis gave prosecutors until the end of the day Monday to explain why she shouldn’t modify a previous order so Martinez can release evidence, like body-camera footage, from her case.
Related news:
- The Chicago Teachers Union wants to bring Chicago Public Schools to the bargaining table over working conditions – including remote learning options – ahead of a possible resurgence of widespread federal enforcement in the city.
- Gregory Bovino — until recently the face of the Trump administration’s violent deportation campaign — was portrayed as a slave-owning Confederate general in a photo emailed to him by an agent he later installed in a high-level Border Patrol job in New Orleans, court records show.
- Several small businesses across the Chicago area will not open Friday in support of a national general strike to protest immigration enforcement that, in recent weeks, has led to the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis. Other businesses, like bakery Del Sur and Rattleback Records, said they can't afford to close but will donate profits to immigrant rights organizations.
HOUSING ????
Affordability — or lack of it — will define Chicago’s housing market this year, experts say
By Abby Miller
National outlook: Housing experts and economists are predicting that 2026 will be a stronger year for the U.S. housing market. Economists from the National Association of Realtors anticipate that affordability will improve, along with home value appreciation.
Not in Chicago: Chicago will likely tell a different story. Though home sales remain strong, a dwindling number of listings combined with steady demand means more competition among buyers, which could motivate sellers to raise prices.
Average price: The median sale price for a Chicago home rose more than 5% last year to $375,000, according to Illinois Realtors. Over the past seven years, median home prices have been spiking to new highs during the peak homebuying season around June. Between 2019 and 2026, the peak median home price rose from $265,000 to $385,000 — a 45% jump.
Local look: While experts said Chicago might see incremental improvements in the housing market this year, many said affordability and a lack of homes will define 2026 here.
Related news:
- Mayor Brandon Johnson may try again to convince Chicago voters to pass his “Bring Chicago Home” referendum, a top aide said, arguing that other states' ballot questions normally "don’t get passed the first time."
- Business leader Seretha McField-Gibbs on Thursday launched Bear Down Community Investment Group, aiming to boost regional economic development through community partnerships.
LET’S HEAR FROM YOU ????️
Are you in the market to buy a new residence in Chicago? What has your experience been like?
Email your answer here. (please include your first and last name). We may run your answer in a future newsletter or story.
MORE NEWS YOU NEED ????️
- New COPA boss: Chicago’s police oversight agency is getting a new boss — its current interim boss, LaKenya White. The city’s Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability voted to give White the permanent job.
- Restaurateur released: After being charged with sharing sexual images of a co-worker, Warlord owner Trevor B. Fleming is being temporarily released from electronic monitoring for a business trip to Japan, records show.
- Ex-mayor may testify: In 2015 remarks to City Council, then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel acknowledged a code of silence within Chicago’s police department, after the fatal police shooting of Laquan McDonald. Now a federal judge says Emanuel "put himself in play" with his speech, as a civil trial over alleged police misconduct nears.
- Dems debate: Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton — the three leading Democratic candidates in the heated primary race for retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s seat — met Thursday for a second televised debate as they tried to focus on their policy differences.
- Pumping the brakes: Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias is pushing legislation to regulate electric bikes and, for the first time, rein in the more dangerous "e-motos" that go upward of 50 mph.
WEEKEND PLANS ????
???? Julia Keefe Indigenous Jazz Ensemble
7:30 p.m. Friday
????Logan Center for the Arts, 915 E. 60th St.
Musicians from North and South America perform selections drawn from Indigenous musical traditions.
Admission: $12+
???? The Art of Belonging
2-4 p.m. Saturday
????Mana Contemporary, 2233 S Throop St.
This production centers the Filipino and Filipino American experience in the Midwest through a trilogy of short plays and 16 mm home movies.
Admission: Free
????️ Sanctum Market
12-5 p.m. Sunday
????Hoste, 1857 W. 16th St.
Shop from local artisans, vintage clothing sellers and candle vendors. or get involved in a candlemaking class.
Admission: Free; $78+ for class
???? Amapiano Wine Club
4-8 p.m. Sunday
????etc., 404 South Wells St.
Enjoy South African wine and house music, with DJ duo Ko Kasi performing.
Admission: $10
FROM THE PRESS BOX ????????⚾????
- Sports media power rankings: The Sun-Times' Jeff Agrest ranked the market’s talent on TV, radio and podcasts based on appeal, quality, longevity and personal preference. Out of more than 100 people, here's who made the cut.
- Caleb’s cool effect: Caleb Williams' wizardry has changed the Bears' perception around the NFL — and for those about to join it, writes Patrick Finley.
- Sox’ optimism: Manager Will Venable says the White Sox have to "embrace" expectations and enter spring training with optimism
- Cubs confidence: Seiya Suzuki is in line to claim more regular playing time in right field this year. Will his postseason confidence carry over on defense for the Cubs in 2026?
- Boys basketball: Joe Henricksen previews and predicts the outcomes of this weekend's top high school boys basketball games.
CHICAGO MINI CROSSWORD ????
Today's clue: 4D: Former Chicagoland meteorologist Skilling
BRIGHT ONE ????
Athletic center, affordable housing planned for 2 shuttered CPS schools
By Emmanuel Camarillo
Breakaway Community Development was established in 2017 with the aim of providing affordable training services to young athletes in the Austin neighborhood, hoping to set them on a path to success through sports.
The nonprofit hosts basketball camps and offers athletic training in speed and agility. But Khalilah Johnson, the co-founder and president, said it hasn’t been easy finding places to accommodate their sessions.
"We really started trying to find a building where we could house our events in one place and focus on all sports, not just indoor sports," Johnson said.
She thinks the group found such a place, in the building that used to house the shuttered Armstrong Elementary School. The Chicago Board of Education approved the sale of the property to Breakaway in a unanimous vote Thursday.
The plan is to repurpose the main building into a two-story facility with two full-size courts for basketball and volleyball. It will include an indoor turf field for baseball, soccer, football and other sports. The nonprofit also hopes to offer spaces where kids can learn skills in sportscasting, photography and sports officiating.
And the facility will provide mental health services, "To really treat the whole athlete," Johnson said.
Sports can lead to a free education, and young people in the area are often priced out, she said: "Whatever pathway we can help create, we are willing to do."
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Yesterday, we asked you: Do you think Illinois should opt into the tax credit scholarship program?
Here's some of what you said, edited for length and clarity.
"I think Illinois should opt into [it]. We do not allow businesses to have monopolies because we have learned that competition improves products and services ... Public schools will improve with competition from private schools." — Jim Winikates
"These student boondoggles to private schools are trying to separate the children of privilege from the rest of us ... Public education represents building a stronger America with all of us. The private school lobby ... is to deny education to any but the privileged." — Steve Davis
"I do not understand the governor’s hesitancy to opt in. The program offers parents an opportunity to send their child to a school that, in their opinion, offers a better chance of success for their child. It is a federal tax deduction and does not affect public school funding." — John Shanahan
"If Illinois opted in, I fear for the fate of [its] public education. It is already in dire straits as we allow local taxes to dictate the quality of schools in an area, so we are already living under a segregated reality of achievement. This will only exacerbate things." — Kat Katsma
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Written and curated by: Matt Moore
Editor: Eydie Cubarrubia
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