City In Review: Chicago

Woodlawn · Then vs Now

Woodlawn: 2024-04 vs 2025-04

A side-by-side look at how Woodlawn shifted between two periods.

2024-04 2025-04 Change
Building permits 12 36 +200%
Construction value ($) $279,600 $39,702,454 +14100%
New business licenses 18 18 0%
Business closings (proxy) 0 0
311 service requests 641 610 -5%
Reported crimes 327 327 0%
Violent crimes 125 110 -12%
Failed food inspections 0 3 +3

2024-04

Woodlawn logs 12 permits worth $280k in April

Woodlawn saw 12 permits pulled in April, totaling roughly $280,000 in declared work—split evenly between express permits and renovation projects. No new businesses opened or closed. Residents filed 641 service requests, led by 72 calls about tree trimming (a category the city no longer accepts) and 58 pothole complaints. Police recorded 327 crimes, 125 of them violent. No food establishments failed inspection.

2025-04

Woodlawn permit value jumps to $39.7 million

Woodlawn's permit value shot up 2,676 percent in April, from $1.4 million to nearly $40 million. The spike came on 36 permits, including one for new construction and eight for renovation work. The rest were mostly express permits and reinstatements. Service requests climbed 11 percent to 610, led by 51 pothole complaints and 48 abandoned vehicle calls. Crime ticked up 15.5 percent, with violent offenses rising 9 percent. Three food establishments failed inspection, compared to none the month before.

New businesses — 2024-04

  • JoA Beauty (Limited Business License)
  • HAN / CITGO (Filling Station)
  • KUTINA L GATSON (Peddler License)
  • VANESSA BILLION HAIR STUDIO & DAY SPA, LLC (Limited Business License)
  • Chartwells Higher Education / Cafe Logan (Caterer's Liquor License)
  • views construction (Regulated Business License)
  • Chartwells Higher Education / Cafe Logan (Outdoor Patio)
  • TWINSPOT (Tobacco)
  • Chartwells Higher Education / Cafe Logan (Retail Food Establishment)
  • HAN / CITGO (Retail Food Establishment)

New businesses — 2025-04

  • SUPPRESSED WOUNDS (Limited Business License)
  • DOUGHBOY'S CHGO ENTERPRISES (Shared Kitchen User (Short Term))
  • WHOLE SALE MARKET (Retail Food Establishment)
  • V'S CONVENIENCE STORE (Limited Business License)
  • CLARK (Tobacco)
  • CLARK (Filling Station)
  • CLARK (Retail Food Establishment)
  • SOUTHSIDE GRINDS COFFEE CO. (Shared Kitchen User (Long Term))
  • TWINSPOT (Tobacco)
  • JACKSON PARK GOLF COURSE (Retail Food Establishment)