Up until nearly 10 years ago it seemed to some that housing subdivisions dotted with so-called 'McMansions' and strip mall development around Chicago would continue unbridled. The real estate bust, and now the closings of thousands of brick-and-mortar retail stores, could slow that trend. Karl Kettelkamp farms in Kanville west of Chicago;
A University of Illinois official told the Chicago Tribune late last year that weak job growth in the state coupled by the state's budget impasse will, in his words, 'stifle' housing sales in the Chicago area.
