Weekly Rat Trends — Oct 12–Oct 18, 2026

Chicago logged 920 new rat and rodent reports this week — down 17% from 1,102 the week before.

👑 Lake View 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:

• Forest Glen: 15 this week, up from 4 — a jump of +11
• Hermosa: 22 this week, up from 12 — a jump of +10
• Austin: 34 this week, up from 26 — a jump of +8

📉 Rat-free heroes

Neighborhoods that quieted down the most:

• West Ridge: down to 14 from 34 — 20 fewer reports
• Near North Side: down to 7 from 24 — 17 fewer reports
• Armour Square: down to 3 from 17 — 14 fewer reports

🏙️ How fast is the city actually moving?

The city resolved 905 baiting requests this week, averaging 12.5 days from complaint to resolution (slower than the 10.7-day average the week before).

🐀 The rats’ favorite wards

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

• Ward 25: 15.3 days on average (11 closed this week)
• Ward 28: 14.7 days on average (16 closed this week)
• Ward 16: 14.5 days on average (19 closed this week)

⚡ No mercy wards

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

• Ward 42: 3.2 days on average (5 closed this week)
• Ward 4: 6.6 days on average (16 closed this week)
• Ward 7: 8.4 days on average (16 closed this week)

⏳ Still waiting

A complaint at 5401 S LONG AVE in Garfield Ridge 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.