Chicago’s Infamous Rat Problem Won’t Go Away Under Current Plan, Audit Finds

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.

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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This story was originally published by Block Club Chicago and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.