Guys, we just have one more month to go before the dreaded 2020 gets sealed away in history books, never to rear its ugly head again. Isn’t that exciting? Yes, I know there is a very good chance 2021 won’t look super different, but one can hope. As we drift into the end of the year, let’s focus on happy stuff — like managing brokers! I was about to say take a moment to hug/kiss/high five your managing broker to show appreciation, but obviously we can’t do that right now. Instead, go ahead and do an elbow bump or a 6-feet-away air high five! And if you yourself are a managing broker, go ahead and pat yourself on the back. No matter who you are, you’re welcome to flip over to the cover story and find out what’s cooking in the world of MBs these days while I “zoom” on into the gossip.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving dinner that involved staying in your own house with just your immediate family! I ate enough Tofurkey and drank enough wine to make up for all the people missing around my table. Speaking of Thanksgiving, The Leslie McDonnell Team delivered over 330 pies to folks in need on Thanksgiving!

Makes me feel bad about the fact that all I did is stuff my face and drink fancy wine. Although I did head over to the soup kitchen with my mask and ladle for a bit. That’s right, Agent X does things for those in need from time to time. Just don’t tell anyone.

Michele Marks of Coldwell Banker Realty in Naperville held 167 showings of one single home over the span of 3 days! This popular home nabbed 15 offers, and of course it sold to a happy buyer (and I’m sure the seller was just as happy). Kudos to you, Michele, for getting your late fall hustle on.

Despite how great your Thanksgiving was and how fantastic your winter holidays will inevitably be, there is one thing that is NOT making folks around Chicago happy: the increase in property taxes. What’s that old saying? The only things that always go up are taxes and the number on the scale. That sounds right.

Here’s something to be happy about: Birthdays! Todd Mullen will get older on Dec. 9, while Judy Pettas gets another year lovelier on Dec. 13. Michelle Mills Clement, Michael Bauknecht and Mike Sato can celebrate together since their names are kind of similar and their birthdays are on Dec. 15, 16, and 17, respectively. Kathleen Malone and Rafay Qamar can toast one another on their Dec. 19th birthday, while Jeff Lasky should try to horn in on their fun since his birthday is on the 20th. Last, and no one is ever the least in my book, Walter Kraiewski can drink a bucket of champagne on his Dec. 22 bday.