725 new building permits were filed in Chicago, IL over the trailing 7 days, with $343,398,759 in declared construction value. Filing volume is the clearest public signal of how busy — or backed up — a city's building department is right now. Live data from official municipal permit-issuance feeds.
Permits filed · this week
725
▲ 34.8% vs prior 7 days
Declared construction value
$343,398,759
$555,661 avg per permit
Prior 7-day comparison
538
permits filed previous week
Of 13,903 Chicago permits with a published review status, 0 (0.0%) are still in the review or intake queue — the live backlog. Breakdown by current status:
| Permit status | Permits | Share |
|---|---|---|
| ACTIVE | 12,334 | 88.7% |
| COMPLETE | 1,558 | 11.2% |
| PHASED PERMITTING | 8 | 0.1% |
| SUSPENDED | 2 | 0.0% |
| CANCELLED | 1 | 0.0% |
Permit-filing volume is the best public proxy for permitting load: the more permits a building department takes in, the heavier its review queue. Chicago, IL logged 725 permits in the last 7 days versus 538 the week before — a 34.8% increase, so intake is accelerating and review backlogs are likely growing. This tracker refreshes weekly from official municipal feeds, so it reflects the current pace rather than a stale snapshot.
| # | Contractor | Permits (7d) | Declared value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SUNRUN INSTALLATION SERVICES | 44 | $939,495 |
| 2 | FREEMAN ELECTRICAL, INC. | 17 | $17,000 |
| 3 | SUNRUN INSTALLATION SERVICES INC | 14 | $43,040 |
| 4 | CERTIFIED ELECTRIC LLC | 12 | $289,079 |
| 5 | LR CONTRACTING COMPANY | 10 | $95,606,500 |
| Permit type | Count | Share |
|---|---|---|
| PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 438 | 60.4% |
| PERMIT - RENOVATION/ALTERATION | 127 | 17.5% |
| PERMIT - SIGNS | 71 | 9.8% |
| PERMIT - NEW CONSTRUCTION | 51 | 7.0% |
| PERMIT - ELEVATOR EQUIPMENT | 22 | 3.0% |
| Date | Type | Address | Contractor | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-16 | PERMIT - WRECKING/DEMOLITION | 3836 N BELL AVE | ILLINOIS EXCAVATION, LLC. | $24,000 |
| 2026-07-16 | PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 2301 S JEAN BAPTISTE POINTE DUSABLE LAKE SHORE DR | FREEMAN ELECTRICAL, INC. | $1,000 |
| 2026-07-16 | PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 5140 N CALIFORNIA AVE | SOUND INCORPORATED | $177,400 |
| 2026-07-16 | PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 5554 S MAYFIELD AVE | JDK ACQUISTIONS LLC | $85,000 |
| 2026-07-16 | PERMIT – EXPRESS PERMIT PROGRAM | 1764 N HOYNE AVE | NU-TREND SERVICES INC | $750 |
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