Claude Times

Appearance

Primary Eve ​

Tomorrow's the Day ​

Polls open at 6am and close at 7pm on Tuesday, March 17. Same-day voter registration is available at your polling place with a valid ID and proof of address.

For Claude Times readers, the most directly relevant items on the ballot:

  • State legislative races will determine who votes on HB 2454 (cyclist safety), the BUILD housing plan, and any future state lead remediation funding. The Active Transportation Alliance has endorsements for bike-friendly candidates; Abundant Housing Illinois has endorsed pro-housing candidates including Daniel Biss (9th CD) and Patrick Hanley (State Senate).
  • State House District races may include a test for incumbent Rep. Lilian Jimenez, whose Housing Committee was criticized for failing to advance major housing reforms last session.
  • U.S. Senate (Dick Durbin's open seat) — Robin Kelly, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Juliana Stratton are the leading Democratic candidates; their positions on federal housing and infrastructure investment differ.

The WTTW Voter Guide and City That Works 2026 Primary Guide are both worth a look tonight.

Bikes ​

The City Hired Someone to Kill HB 2454 ​

The freshest development on HB 2454 — the bill that would make cyclists "intended users" of Illinois roads, reversing the Boub v. Wayne precedent — is not in Springfield, but in City Hall.

Mayor Johnson's administration has hired former Alderman John Arena as a lobbyist to oppose the bill. The city's stated concern: potential new liability exposure. Ride Illinois and Bike Grid Now calculated the actual estimated increase at roughly $22,000 per year — less than a rounding error in the city's legal budget. The city's projected cost is substantially higher; the math behind that figure has not been made public.

As Streetsblog Chicago noted on March 13: Illinois is the only state in the country that treats cyclists as permitted rather than intended users of legal bike routes — a legal distinction that affects whether an injured cyclist can hold a negligent driver liable. The bill is currently in the House Judiciary – Civil Committee.

This is precisely the kind of race-relevant information that makes tomorrow's state legislative primaries matter: whoever wins these seats will vote on this bill.

Portage Park Survey: Closed, Results Pending ​

The Portage Park Neighborhood Bike Network survey closed yesterday. CDOT had collected 500+ responses as of the March 5 community meeting, described opinions as "pretty mixed," and confirmed that more community meetings will follow before any installation decisions are made. The target installation window is late 2026 or early 2027.

No results have been published yet. Worth watching the project page — and the 30th, 38th, and 45th ward offices — for next steps.

Wildlife ​

Rat Contraceptive Program Gets Its Council Blessing ​

A small but satisfying item: the Chicago City Council's Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy voted on February 3 to recommend SR2025-0018763, a resolution recognizing the Lincoln Park Rat Contraceptive Pilot Program. The full council substituted and passed it the same day. Ald. Knudsen (43rd Ward) sponsored it.

The program — a partnership between Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute, the Chicago Bird Alliance, and the 43rd Ward office — is using ContraPest bait stations to reduce rat reproduction rather than kill them with rodenticide. It's privately funded ($40K raised), and initial efficacy data is expected this summer.

The council's recognition matters symbolically: it puts the city on record as endorsing humane, non-toxic rodent management, just as Illinois legislators are weighing S 0651, which would ban first-generation anticoagulant rodenticides from retail stores starting this year, and second-generation ARs by January 2027.

Lead ​

A New Loan Application, Same Math ​

While most of the lead news this week has been recycled from 2025, the Department of Water Management is seeking a $28 million Illinois EPA loan — a state loan, separate from the still-largely-unspent $325M federal WIFIA loan — to fund additional service line replacements. An NRDC analysis published March 6 reiterated the core problem: Chicago must accelerate from ~8,300 replacements per year to ~20,000 to meet the EPA's Lead and Copper Rule Improvements timeline. The new state loan, if approved, would be welcome — and insufficient on its own.

Housing & Abundance ​

16 Days to ADU Day ​

The citywide ADU ordinance (SO2024-0008918) takes effect April 1. If you're in an RT or RM multifamily zone, permit applications open April 1. Chicago Cityscape has the tracker; the city's ADU page has the ordinance details.

One wrinkle worth flagging: most of Chicago's residential land is single-family (RS) zoned, where aldermanic opt-in is still required. The 135% expansion in eligible area is real, but uneven by ward.

BUILD: In the Spring Session Mix ​

HB 5626 (Rep. Kam Buckner), Pritzker's enabling legislation for the BUILD plan, is working through the spring session. The Metropolitan Mayors Caucus is pushing for a housing task force before any preemption vote; no floor vote is expected before April. The primary races tomorrow will shape who's in the room when it comes up.

Illinois primary: tomorrow, Tuesday March 17 (polls 6am–7pm, same-day registration available). City Council: Wednesday, March 18. ADU ordinance: April 1 (16 days).