Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸
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jmisci.bsky.social
Joseph Miscimarra 🇺🇸
@jmisci.bsky.social
890 followers 260 following 850 posts
Energy efficiency industry employee and former ADU resident. Here to stay updated on climate, energy, urbanism, and weather. I post frequently about Chicago!
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jmisci.bsky.social
IL legislastors also need to TAKE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY SERIOUSLY:

1) strengthen the AHPAA. Penalize towns that don’t comply.
2) reform zoning statewide. Don’t let greedy cities say “neighborhood character” is reason to deny workforce housing.
3) consolidate some excessive municipalities (1,300!)
Map of too many municipalities in cook county
November 21, 2025 at 10:59 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
This is hilarious
Trump says it's OK for Mamdani to call him a 'fascist' A reporter just asked Mamdani if he stands by his previous comments that President Trump is a "fascist" Before he could answer, Trump smiled and tapped him on the arm, telling him, "You can just say yes" in response to the question because "it's easier" • Mamdani responded tepidly, "OK, yes."
November 21, 2025 at 10:39 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
This is a sad state of affairs. This man’s mom claims he has severe mental illness and needs treatment. Instead, he roamed the streets assaulting people and is now going to prison for 7 years.

There needs to be a better way to provide help to those who need it, even via institutionalization.
Headline: loop puncher sentenced to 7 years in prison Rucker's mother told the Sun-Times that her son has schizophrenia and needs "dire help" to treat his mental illness. She said she hopes he gets treatment in prison. Cook County court records show Rucker has been arrested more than two dozen times in the last 20 years. Several judges have ordered mental health evaluations.
November 19, 2025 at 11:01 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
A wonderful fall day in Oz Park yesterday
Park with many people out and about and sun poking through yellow leaves
November 17, 2025 at 2:02 AM
jmisci.bsky.social
FWIW the brewery did get permission from one of the victim’s family, and they seem very respectful of the Edmund Fitzgerald’s legacy

www.greatlakesbrewing.com/news/edmund-...
"We asked John years ago if he wouldn't mind us using the name Edmund Fitzgerald for our new porter," says Pat, "and John said 'my Dad would be honored'"' It's this legacy of the Great Lakes' finest freighter and the people whose lives she touched that we commemorate with great respect when we brew Edmund Fitzgerald Porter. Join us at the brewpub for The Last Voyage: Remembering the Edmund Fitzgerald on Monday, November 10 and Tuesday, November 11 from 5:30-7PM to honor the 29 men who perished during this tragedy. Learn the history of the vessel in a brief educational presentation, followed by a toast and moment of silence honoring the crew. One dollar per pint of Edmund Fitzgerald Porter purchased on November 10-11 donated to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum in Paradise, MI.
November 10, 2025 at 4:55 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
CTA appreciation post
Brown line elevated train with snow on tracks and platform
November 10, 2025 at 4:51 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
The gales of November are out in full force this weekend
Edmund Fitzgerald beer 6 pack
November 9, 2025 at 5:31 AM
jmisci.bsky.social
Pictures don’t do it justice but this is one of the coolest moons I’ve ever seen. Our planet is so awesome.

If you’re not watching moonrises, start watching moonrises. Every full moon will rise around the same time as sunset!
Moon rising over lake Sunset at Lake Michigan
November 5, 2025 at 10:49 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
It’s happening!!!
Moon rising over water intake crib in Lake Michigan
November 5, 2025 at 10:33 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
Chicago River appreciation post

The color of the leaves changed so much in just one week! Pictures taken 10/28 and 11/4.
Chicago River with pedestrian walkway and big buildings in back. The trees are dark green Chicago River with pedestrian walkway and big buildings in back. The trees are golden in color
November 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
I love to see this energy from the Tribune editorial board.
Tribune: Watch out nimby groups; your parking weapon just got blunted
November 4, 2025 at 4:26 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
Halloween on Halsted. I love my walkable neighborhood (especially when it lets itself be truly pedestrian oriented)
Busy street with old buildings and people in costumes and a moon
November 1, 2025 at 3:25 AM
jmisci.bsky.social
Powerful front page of the Tribune today.
Tribune newspaper on train Headline with ICE story: “not how any of us want to live” Headline: “house democrats weigh funding plan, eye billionaire and streaming taxes” under photo of people wearing cardboard train saying “fund transit now!”
October 29, 2025 at 3:02 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
How to win my vote: make it easier to build townhomes like these in every neighborhood
Townhomes of brick under autumn leaves
October 28, 2025 at 7:43 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
READ THIS.

Interrupt your scrolling, take a deep breath, and give some thought to our toxic information environment. Social media is an outrage machine.
Tribune opinion How to stay informed without being consumed By Kellie Walenciak My father had a simple ritual. At 6 a.m., he would read the New York Post and Daily News cover to cover. At 6 p.m., he tuned into the evening news - - an hour of straightforward reporting, not commen-tary. He formed his own opinions, and then he moved on. The news didn't dominate company picnics or poker nights with the neighbors. A staunch Republi-can, he didn't shun his Democratic relatives in Scranton. He stayed informed without being consumed. That balance feels almost quaint today. Instead of a daily digest, Americans now live inside a 24/7 outrage machine. We spend an average of two hours and 24 minutes on social media every day. check our phones 159 times a day and will collectively log 4 trillion hours online this year. Nearly half of us say we now watch more user-generated content than TV or streaming. Information is available and, quite frankly, unavoidable. The results are corrosive. Ever story is framed as existential, and every disagreement is a loyalty test. Unlike my father's poker table, where the stakes were bragging rights and a few bucks, today's debates play out before an invisible audience of strangers in all caps and fury. In the 70s and 80s, dad didn’t have to choose between competing realities. Everyone argued from the same facts. Today, news is no longer a resource but a marketplace of outrage. 24-hour cable channels fighting for loyalty and algorithms on Facebook, and TikTok feeding us headlines designed to reinforce what we already believe. it feels like information, but it's really afin mation. And the more affirmation we consume, the less empathy we extend. That distortion has real-world costs Utah Gov. Spencer Cox urged Americans to log off, turn off, touch grass. Huga Comily member. He said it after conserya tive activist Charlie Kirk was assassina and the US, recorded its 45th school shooting of the year. (RAN OUT OF SPACE FOR ALT TEXT)
October 27, 2025 at 2:14 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
There’s no inspiration like the morning commute into Union Station on the BNSF line.

Gaze upon the manmade mountains of Chicago’s skyline. Bear witness to the railroad hubs that keep our nationwide logistics machine humming. Be part of America’s past, present, and future.
Looking out green train window, you can see Chicago’s skyline and big railroad machinery
October 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
So many people going to No Kings protest, open house Chicago, etc today via CTA. Standing room only
Many people on train
October 18, 2025 at 4:16 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
This is a great format and every Dem needs to add it to their playbook.

Hold people accountable and show the public who they support.
Image from @OsseChi in response to Elise Stafnik tweet about crime on NY subways “Elise, why are you friends with nazis?” Image of Elise with text of her endorsing Peter Giunta overlayed on her body, and text of Peter Giunta saying “Great. I love Hitler” overlayed on his body
October 16, 2025 at 2:25 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
More of these buildings EVERYWHERE please.
A multifamily building with 3 stories, pretty brick, and a tree lined street
October 13, 2025 at 3:16 AM
jmisci.bsky.social
Shoutout to all my Chicago marathon friends for spacing themselves out evenly on the course to make things interesting to spectate!
Runners spaced out on marathon course
October 12, 2025 at 8:25 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
New American Record in the marathon for Connor Mantz!!!

Chicago is the fastest marathon in the world. I love this city
Conner Mantz makes HISTORY in Chicago with a 2:04:49 fourth-place finish, the fastest time ever run by an American. Mantz breaks Khalid Khannouchi's 23-year-old American record of 2:05:48, as well as the all-conditions best of 2:04:58 set by Ryan Hall in 2011.
October 12, 2025 at 2:42 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
This is a very good opinion piece. www.chicagotribune.com/2025/10/12/o...
When we look at the rate of shootings per capi-ta across Chicago's 77 neighborhoods, we can see that all the rich neighborhoods are safe, while all the areas with high rates of gun violence are poor. But it is not true that every poor area has lots of shootings. Gun violence is not just a mechanical function of poverty. The data suggests that what distinguishes similarly poor neighborhoods that have higher versus lower rates of gun violence is not just neighborhood poverty but also neighborhood vibrancy - the degree to which neighborhoods have more people out and about. This is what urban planner Jane Jacobs famously called "eyes upon the street": people available to step in and interrupt the arguments that too often escalate into shootings. This is good news, in the sense that increased neighborhood vibrancy is much easier to achieve than eradication of poverty. There is a growing body of research from around the country showing that, for example, cleaning up vacant lots or fixing up abandoned houses gets people out of their houses into the community and generates surprisingly large changes in local gun violence, by as much as 30%. Adding street lighting can also help. So can making it easier to zone and build new commercial estab-lishments. None of that is cost-prohibitive. Let the abundance agenda begin in our city's most disadvantaged neighborhoods.
October 12, 2025 at 12:03 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
Remember being told to “turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth” to save the planet?

Thankfully that’s a pretty meaningless action! Because in Chicago we are now told to run our sinks for 5 minutes before drinking water each morning to flush out the lead in our century-old-homes’ pipes
Tweet from @dustindrury in the 90s it was reduce, reuse, recycle turn off lights & conserve electricity turn off the faucet when brushing your teeth eat less meat & carpool in the 2020s it's consumeeeeeeeee & don't think about the consequences 4:26 PM • 10/9/25 • 430K Views
October 10, 2025 at 9:37 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
Planet Money just posted a video about FILTERING (the “more luxury housing = more affordable homes” paradox)
October 10, 2025 at 2:19 PM
jmisci.bsky.social
Please enjoy.
States I’d live in. The only ones that I’d absolutely live in are IL, WI, MT, MD, DC
October 3, 2025 at 2:31 PM