Weekly Rat Trends — Sep 28–Oct 4, 2026

Chicago logged 1,057 new rat and rodent reports this week — up 1% from 1,046 the week before.

👑 Lincoln Park takes this week’s Rat King crown with 55 reports — wear it with pride, or shame, your call.

📈 On the rise

Neighborhoods with the biggest jump from last week:

• Lincoln Park: 55 this week, up from 30 — a jump of +25
• North Lawndale: 17 this week, up from 4 — a jump of +13
• Jefferson Park: 28 this week, up from 18 — a jump of +10

📉 Rat-free heroes

Neighborhoods that quieted down the most:

• West Town: down to 33 from 49 — 16 fewer reports
• Lincoln Square: down to 27 from 38 — 11 fewer reports
• Lake View: down to 44 from 54 — 10 fewer reports

🏙️ How fast is the city actually moving?

The city resolved 1,255 baiting requests this week, averaging 11.4 days from complaint to resolution (slower than the 10.9-day average the week before).

🐀 The rats’ favorite wards

Where a baiting request can really stretch its legs before getting closed:

• Ward 7: 14.0 days on average (4 closed this week)
• Ward 15: 13.8 days on average (135 closed this week)
• Ward 5: 13.6 days on average (8 closed this week)

⚡ No mercy wards

Where the city shows up and doesn’t mess around:

• Ward 34: 3.6 days on average (3 closed this week)
• Ward 9: 6.5 days on average (44 closed this week)
• Ward 21: 7.2 days on average (13 closed this week)

⏳ Still waiting

A complaint at 6320 S KILDARE AVE in West Lawn has been open 8 days and counting — the longest of anything filed this week. Godspeed.

Want the underlying data? Browse every sighting from this week on the live map and table.