City In Review: Chicago

Portage Park · 2026-01

Portage Park permit value drops 60%

Portage Park issued 32 permits in January, up 23% from December, but their combined value fell from $2.9 million to $1.2 million—a drop of nearly 60%. Express permits led the count at 16. New businesses slowed sharply: just 18 licenses versus 73 the prior month. Dubai Discount Plus and La Michoacana Chicag Ice Cream joined the retail food scene, and Sutherland's opened with both food and on-premises consumption permits. Service requests jumped 23% to 1,777, led by tree trim requests (223) and pothole complaints (177). Violent crime rose 20% to 54 incidents, though overall crime fell 16%. Six food establishments failed inspections, up from two in December.

By the numbers

Building permits32
Declared construction value$1,185,184
New business licenses18
Business closings (proxy)0
311 service requests1777
Reported crimes205
Violent crimes54
Failed food inspections6

New businesses

Top permit types

Top 311 request types

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