Local Intelligence — Your Community

The permit approvals, school board votes, and block-by-block shifts that change your property value — covered before they cost you.

Scroll
Zoning Variance Filed — 4th & MapleSchool Board Vote: Budget ReallocationPermit Approved — 3-Story Mixed UseVoter Registration Deadline: March 15Planning Commission Agenda PublishedNew Business License: The Hearth BakeryProperty Assessment Notices MailedCouncil Session: Infrastructure LevyTeacher Contract Negotiations ResumeHistoric Designation Hearing — Elm St.Zoning Variance Filed — 4th & MapleSchool Board Vote: Budget ReallocationPermit Approved — 3-Story Mixed UseVoter Registration Deadline: March 15Planning Commission Agenda PublishedNew Business License: The Hearth BakeryProperty Assessment Notices MailedCouncil Session: Infrastructure LevyTeacher Contract Negotiations ResumeHistoric Designation Hearing — Elm St.
Community Intelligence

Your neighborhood, in numbers.

These aren't abstract statistics. Each figure is a decision already made — or one you can still influence.

DevelopmentCounty Planning Dept. Q4 2025

Avg. Permit Approval Time

147 days+23 days vs. 2022

Residential permits in your county now take 23% longer to approve than three years ago — affecting every renovation and new build in the pipeline.

SchoolsState Dept. of Education 2025

Teacher-to-Student Ratio

1 : 29↑ from 1:24 in 2019

District-wide classrooms have grown by five students per teacher since pre-pandemic levels.

Real EstateMLS Data, Feb 2026

Median Days on Market

11 days↓ from 34 in 2023
CivicCounty Election Board, Nov 2025

Voter Turnout — Last Local Election

18.4%vs. 61% presidential

Fewer than 1 in 5 registered voters cast a ballot in the election that decided your school board, your zoning board, and your city budget.

"The votes that reshuffled your school district's leadership happened on a Tuesday at 7 p.m. Attendance: 34 residents."

Dispatch Finding #1
Local BusinessCity Clerk Office, Jan 2026

New Business Licenses Filed

312+41% year-over-year
Public SafetyPolice Dept. Annual Report 2025

Avg. Police Response Time

9.2 min+1.8 min vs. last year

Staffing shortfalls in the department have extended average response times across all call categories.

DevelopmentPlanning Commission Docket, Q4 2025

Zoning Variances Requested

74this quarter

Developers filed 74 variance requests in Q4 — each one a potential change to what gets built next door.

SchoolsSchool District HR, Feb 2026

Open Teaching Positions

38unfilled as of Feb 2026

"Three rezoning approvals in the past 18 months will add 1,400 housing units to streets that haven't changed since 1987."

Dispatch Finding #2
Real EstateCounty Assessor, Feb 2026

Property Tax Assessment Increase

+8.3%average 2026 reassessment

Most homeowners will see their effective tax bill climb this spring — driven by updated valuations.

CivicCity Clerk Records 2025

Planning Commission Meetings

2 / monthpublic attendance avg: 7
Local BusinessBusiness Improvement District, Jan 2026

Storefronts Currently Vacant

29on Main Corridor

Nearly a third of the commercial spaces along the main business corridor sit empty, awaiting new tenants or redevelopment.

"Your property tax bill reflects 11 decisions made in public — that most of your neighbors never heard about."

Dispatch Finding #3
Neighborhood Assessment

Take the Neighborhood Pulse

Five questions. Your results reveal how much of your community's decision-making you're actually tracking — and what you're missing.

Subscribe without the quiz
From the Community

Who reads Dispatch.

"

"I used Dispatch to prep for the planning commission meeting where they were voting on the mixed-use development two blocks from my house. Showed up with sourced facts. My neighbors had opinions. I had data."

Margaret Okafor, homeowner and PTA president smiling in professional setting

Margaret Okafor

Homeowner & PTA President, Oak Park

60301
"

"Running for city council, I needed to understand sentiment block by block — not just what people posted on social media. The zoning and permit data Dispatch surfaced changed how I talked to voters in three different precincts."

Daniel Reyes, city council candidate in business casual attire outdoors

Daniel Reyes

City Council Candidate, District 4

94103
"

"I'm a real estate attorney. My clients ask me what's happening in a neighborhood before they close. Dispatch is the first thing I check — before Zillow, before the MLS, before anything."

Priya Venkataraman, real estate attorney in professional office environment

Priya Venkataraman

Real Estate Attorney

10013
Join the Briefing

Your neighborhood is making decisions.

Dispatch delivers the zoning fights, school board votes, and small-business openings that regional outlets stopped covering — straight to your inbox.

No spam. Unsubscribe instantly. We don't sell your data.

Dispatch