Lizzie Kane

Lizzie Kane is a former business reporter for the Chicago Tribune, focusing on affordable housing and residential real estate.

Regeant Panday and Sarah Tang in their living room as Tang holds onto Kaali, one of their two cats, in their Bridgeport neighborhood home on July 17, 2025. The couple bought their house nearly a year ago. While they were able to achieve homeownership, it has come with sacrifices for the couple, ones that many Americans are having to make because of climbing housing costs. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

They bought a house to ‘grow up.’ Now they can’t afford to start a family.

September 17, 2025 at 5:00 a.m.

The costs associated with owning a home — insurance, property taxes, maintenance, utilities — are surging, causing younger adults to feel further disconnected from the lives they envisioned.

Chicago Housing Authority board member James Matanky kisses the hand of Angela Hurlock, outgoing interim CEO, at a special meeting on Sept. 2, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Interim Chicago Housing Authority CEO Angela Hurlock steps down; Walter Burnett appointment delayed

September 2, 2025 at 2:59 p.m.

Interim Board Chair Matthew Brewer will now serve as "operating chairman" of the housing authority.

Aldermen and city staff celebrate then-Ald. Walter Burnett Jr., 27th, during a Chicago City Council meeting on July 16, 2025. Burnett stepped down from the council at the end of July. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

HUD asks Chicago Housing Authority to delay Walter Burnett CEO hire until review of potential conflicts of interest

August 29, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

The move was in response to a letter interim CHA Board Chair Matthew Brewer sent to the federal agency Wednesday that outlined Burnett’s potential conflicts.

Kristin Faust, directora ejecutiva de la Autoridad de Desarrollo de la Vivienda de Illinois, participa en una serie de conversaciones sobre movilidad económica, organizadas por el Proyecto Illinois Answers, en el Museo Nacional de la Vivienda Pública, el 10 de julio de 2025, en Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

El programa de ayuda para el alquiler de Illinois ha vuelto a ponerse en marcha. Esto es lo que necesita saber

August 19, 2025 at 8:53 a.m.

¿Tiene dificultades para pagar el alquiler? ¿Necesita que le paguen el alquiler que le deben? Hay una solución para esos problemas tras una pausa de dos meses: el programa de...

Kristin Faust, executive director of the Illinois Housing Development Authority, participates in a series of conversations about economic mobility, hosted by the Illinois Answers Project, at the National Public Housing Museum, July 10, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Illinois’ rental assistance program has restarted. Here’s what you need to know.

August 17, 2025 at 8:53 a.m.

While the program saw a third of its funds wiped away for the 2026 fiscal year that began July 1, $50 million in state funds are available.

Danielle Malaty, center, a former Goldberg Segalla lawyer who was terminated following her use of ChatGPT, speaks to her attorney outside the courtroom at Daley Center on July 17, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)

Lawyer for CHA who used ChatGPT to cite fake court case sanctioned in separate case for improper AI use

August 12, 2025 at 4:16 p.m.

Cook County Circuit Judge William Sullivan sanctioned attorney Danielle Malaty with a fine of $10 on July 16 for her improper use of artificial intelligence.

The Robert C. Weaver Federal Building, the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, on July 8, 2025, in Washington. (Kent Nishimura/Getty)

HUD drops housing discrimination complaint related to aldermanic prerogative and Chicago zoning

August 7, 2025 at 10:09 a.m.

In a letter HUD sent Wednesday to the complaining parties, which was obtained by the Tribune, the agency said it was closing the case to instead focus on "real concerns...

The Chicago Housing Authority client service center building at 60 E. Van Buren St. on March 9, 2025. (Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune)

Ald. Walter Burnett’s wife violated Chicago Housing Authority ethics policy

July 23, 2025 at 1:33 p.m.

Darlena Williams-Burnett, the wife of the front-runner to be next Chicago Housing Authority CEO Ald. Walter Burnett, violated the housing authority’s ethics policy when employed by the agency in 2022.

Resident leader and CHA board member Francine Washington answers questions from reporters about opposition to Ald. Walter Burnett as the possible next Chicago Housing Authority CEO at a CHA complex on July 22, 2025. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Chicago Housing Authority resident leaders voice opposition to Ald. Walter Burnett as potential next CEO

July 22, 2025 at 5:49 p.m.

The CHA’s Central Advisory Council, an elected resident board, said Ald. Walter Burnett is not fit to lead the nation’s third-largest public housing authority and will sell off CHA’s land...

Illinois Rep. Bob Morgan, D-58th, mingles after a news conference in Broadview on July 14, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

After State Farm rate hike, legislators are pressured to provide relief. Here’s what could be on the table.

July 21, 2025 at 10:35 a.m.

Illinois legislators are looking at ways to regulate homeowners insurance after State Farm announced it was raising rates by 27.2%.

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