Lots of terrific blog ideas fall by the wayside as their part-time operators are crushed under the weight of their ambitious volunteerism, but we hope that the reborn Aldertrack Web site fulfills its new mission.
Beginning today, the site has been reborn as “a multifarious movement of municipal esoterica.” In less poetic language – and we can’t think of a less poetic endeavor – the site’s goal is to monitor all Chicago zoning change proposals, categorized by neighborhood and date. Posts on proposed zoning changes include addresses, photos, PINs, zoning map references, alderman action, etc.
There’s even an MP3 file of today’s Zoning Committee meeting posted at the top of the home page, but it takes quite a while to load. Once it does, it’s about the best soundtrack for insomniacs we’ve ever heard.
We wish Aldertrack luck on an ambitious project that could be a great reference for neighborhood residents and groups. Since the most recent “archived news” at the Department of Zoning Web site includes exactly one item from 2004 (warning: city pages can take forever to load), it doesn’t appear that local government will be making this information easily accessible anytime soon.