Weekly Rat Trends — Oct 19–Oct 25, 2026

Chicago logged 1,116 new rat and rodent reports this week — up 20% from 931 the week before. Somebody tell the rats it's not a competition.

👑 West Town takes this week’s Rat King crown with 69 reports — wear it with pride, or shame, your call.

📈 On the rise

Neighborhoods with the biggest jump from last week:

• West Town: 69 this week, up from 33 — a jump of +36
• Jefferson Park: 29 this week, up from 8 — a jump of +21
• Washington Heights: 23 this week, up from 5 — a jump of +18

📉 Rat-free heroes

Neighborhoods that quieted down the most:

• Roseland: down to 8 from 17 — 9 fewer reports
• Forest Glen: down to 7 from 15 — 8 fewer reports
• Clearing: down to 13 from 20 — 7 fewer reports

🏙️ How fast is the city actually moving?

The city resolved 1,271 baiting requests this week, averaging 11.8 days from complaint to resolution (faster than the 12.5-day average the week before).

🐀 The rats’ favorite wards

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

• Ward 44: 15.7 days on average (29 closed this week)
• Ward 1: 14.6 days on average (31 closed this week)
• Ward 11: 14.3 days on average (37 closed this week)

⚡ No mercy wards

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

• Ward 34: 2.1 days on average (3 closed this week)
• Ward 42: 5.4 days on average (6 closed this week)
• Ward 2: 8.0 days on average (19 closed this week)

⏳ Still waiting

A complaint at 6105 S MONITOR AVE in Clearing 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.