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After nearly two years of navigating regulatory red tape and approximately $300,000 in construction costs, Brian Peterman was able to build a "granny flat" on his property, allowing his mother-in-law to move in. “‘Life-changing’ is probably the cleanest way of saying it,” he said. Soon, such units will be allowed in many neighborhoods across the city, as long as the local alderperson agrees.
After nearly two years of navigating regulatory red tape and approximately $300,000 in construction costs, Brian Peterman was able to build a "granny flat" on his property, allowing his mother-in-law to move in. “‘Life-changing’ is probably the cleanest way of saying it,” he said. Soon, such units will be allowed in many neighborhoods across the city, as long as the local alderperson agrees. Credit: Akilah Townsend for Illinois Answers Project

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Alex Nitkin is a government finance and accountability reporter conducting investigations on systemic problems and the public policies that are meant to fix them in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois government. Before joining Illinois Answers, he worked as a reporter and editor for The Daily Line covering Cook County and Chicago government. He previously worked at The Real Deal Chicago, where he covered local real estate news, and DNAinfo Chicago, where he worked as a breaking news reporter and then as a neighborhood reporter covering the city's Northwest Side. A New York native who grew up in Connecticut, Alex graduated Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism with a bachelor’s degree.