Chicago’s Infamous Rat Problem Won’t Go Away Under Current Plan, Audit
Finds
[July 30, 2026]
By QUINN MYERS/Block Club Chicago
The city’s rodent abatement program is “unlikely to achieve longterm
control of the rat population” due to an emphasis on reactive efforts
rather than proactive solutions, according to a new report by the city’s
watchdog.
The audit — published Tuesday by the Office of Inspector General —
analyzed the Department of Streets and Sanitation’s dedicated rat
control program from July 2023 through July 2024, roughly tracking with
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first year in office.
The report found that the department’s Bureau of Rodent Control did not
satisfy “key elements” of a common rat abatement approach known as
Integrated Pest Management, which is endorsed by the federal government
and Illinois Department of Public Health.
Specifically, that meant city workers during the audited time frame
prioritized poisoning rats on a case-by-case basis rather than
implementing more comprehensive and permanent solutions to curb their
populations, such as monitoring sanitary conditions in specific areas
and establishing thresholds for intervention, according to the report.
The bureau “did not survey or monitor the root causes of rat infestation
over time. It treated individual complaints to 311… as thresholds for
action rather than targeting interventions based on overall impacts to
quality of life, economic activity or public health,” according to the
report.
The city’s “primary goal was to poison rats in response to complaints
rather than addressing the root causes of rat infestations while using
poison as a last resort.”
The report does stress that the public plays an important role in rat
abatement by keeping alleys and other spaces free of garbage, dog waste
and additional refuse. It also notes that the sanitation department said
it has made improvements to its rat abatement program since the
investigation was completed two years ago.
While the audit didn’t look at the abatement efforts’ impact on rat
populations, rat complaints made to the city have started trending
downward after spiking during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data analyzed as part of a Block Club Chicago and Illinois
Answers Project investigation published in summer 2023, shortly after
the inspector general audit investigation began, Chicagoans logged about
35,000 rat complaints in 2010 and 41,000 in 2019. In 2020, the number
rose to 54,000 and then surged to almost 66,000 in 2021 before dropping
to about 50,000 the following year.
The number of complaints has since dropped slightly each year, with 2025
logging about 44,000 “rodent baiting/rat complaints” to 311, according
to the city’s data portal.
Still, rats remain a fact of life across Chicago’s alleys, parks and
other public spaces as the city contends with perennial rodent issues.
For years, Chicago was named the “rattiest city” in America by the Orkin
pest control company, although it fell to second place — behind Los
Angeles — last year. The city’s sanitation department has criticized the
survey as a marketing tactic.
The inspector general’s report includes recommendations the city’s
rodent control bureau can take to better align itself with Integrated
Pest Management practices to permanently make a dent in local rat
populations.
That includes proactively surveying rat populations and root causes
citywide, establishing “tolerance levels” for localized rat populations
from which abatement efforts can be measured against and prioritizing
non-toxic solutions like education and sanitation before resorting to
poison.
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The report also recommends the department provide training on rodent
abatement policies for other city departments involved in housing,
recreation and public health.
“Chicago’s rat control team relies on poison to respond to reports
of rat sightings and infestations, but the city’s approach doesn’t
consistently target sources of food and shelter,” David Glockner,
the city’s inspector general, said in a statement.
“This audit shows the need for a unified strategy, coordinated
across city departments, to cut rats off from the resources that let
them thrive and multiply. Without a change in tactics, it will be
nearly impossible to make lasting progress, and Chicagoans will
continue to face fresh crops of rats.”
In a statement issued in response to the report’s publication, a
sanitation department spokesperson said the agency has taken
“proactive steps to strengthen the program” in the two years since
the Office of Inspector General completed its investigative work.
The report itself also includes responses from the department to its
findings. The department noted that it already follows an Integrated
Pest Management “approach,” but that it plans to expand its
surveying efforts to better collect and monitor data on rat
infestations and establish certain abatement procedures based on
inspection results and observed conditions.
Streets and Sanitation said it will also revise its procedures
around the handling and application of rat poisons, according to the
report.
“We will continue working to implement policies and procedures that
align with Integrated Pest Management principles, increase
interagency coordination and data sharing, and continue to educate
the public about steps they can take to mitigate rodent activity,”
the spokesperson’s statement said.
The city’s Bureau of Rodent Control was allocated about $12.5
million in 2026, according to the report. That supports budgeted
positions for about 100 employees, with 30 in “cart management” who
replace and repair city garbage and recycling cans, and almost 70 in
“vector control” overseeing the actual rodent control efforts.
While the report encouraged the city to use poison as a “last
resort” when combatting rat populations, it does not specifically
mention another strategy already being used around parts of Chicago:
rat birth control.
In recent years, several neighborhoods have been experimenting with
rodent contraceptives as a way to permanently shrink rat burrows
without resorting to poisons that could potentially harm other
animals.
In spring 2025, Special Service Area No. 33 began placing rat birth
control in alleys and tree pits along several major commercial
corridors in Wicker Park and Bucktown.
Early results released this year showed a decline in the local
rodent population, according to data released by organizers.
Last year, the Department of Streets and Sanitation also partnered
with Ald. Timmy Knudsen’s (43rd) office, the Chicago Bird Alliance,
Lincoln Park Zoo and the Lincoln Park Conservancy to launch a
similar fertility pilot program in Lincoln Park.
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