County report · Illinois

Building Permits in Cook County, Illinois

Every building permit issued by the City of Chicago — the county's largest jurisdiction — counted, valued, and sorted by trade. Free, and updated daily.

Source: City of Chicago open data — building permits. Source last updated: October 17, 2026 · Our last pull: October 17, 2026 · Figures are as reported by the City of Chicago.

Coverage: this report covers building permits issued by the City of Chicago, the largest jurisdiction in Cook County. Suburban Cook County permits are published by separate municipalities and are not in this feed yet, so county totals here are Chicago totals — labeled as such, never blended.

1,547
Permits issued in October 2026 (to Oct 17)
$417.6M
Reported project value, October 2026 to date
31,746
Permits issued, last 12 months
Electrical
Top trade, last 12 months (7,675 permits)
Citable figure: Chicago issued 3,179 building permits in September 2026 with a reported project value of $684,261,494.
PermitsByCounty data, Cook County (Chicago), September 2026 · Source: City of Chicago

Questions, answered from the data

How many building permits were issued in Chicago in September 2026?

3,179 building permits were issued in Chicago in September 2026, with a reported project value of $684,261,494, as reported by the City of Chicago.

How many building permits were issued in Chicago in the last 12 months?

31,746 building permits were issued in Chicago in the 12 months ending October 2026 (October 17, 2026), with a combined reported project value of $10,958,253,155, as reported by the City of Chicago.

What is the most common type of building permit in Chicago?

Electrical permits are the most common classified type: 7,675 issued in the last 12 months (24.2% of all permits), as reported by the City of Chicago.

Permits by month

MonthPermits issuedReported value
October 2026 (to date)1,547$417,559,242
September 20263,179$684,261,494
August 20263,044$617,339,221
July 20262,923$1,320,281,430
June 20262,900$649,265,506
May 20262,757$834,533,256
April 20262,845$1,133,951,481
March 20262,606$2,029,625,450
February 20261,996$1,063,823,753
January 20261,929$524,644,416
December 20252,074$684,187,196
November 20252,357$445,696,104
October 2025 (from Oct 17)1,589$553,084,605

October 2025 coverage begins October 17, 2025 (our first full pull); October 2026 is month-to-date.

Permits by trade — last 12 months

TradePermitsShareReported value
Electrical7,67524.2%$1,017,462,702
General & Other7,52523.7%$3,453,539,861
Plumbing2,8208.9%$999,365,996
Signage2,0726.5%$10,778,093
Masonry1,9256.1%$193,718,159
Solar1,9096.0%$53,666,943
New Construction1,5294.8%$4,129,798,481
Roofing1,3824.4%$253,470,072
Fire Alarm1,1333.6%$0
Elevator1,1193.5%$437,355,867
HVAC1,0013.2%$331,924,143
Fencing9733.1%$8,832,273
Demolition6832.2%$68,340,565

Biggest projects issued in October 2026

Project (permit #)TradeReported valueIssued
500 N Michigan Ave #101082340
DDS 2019 CBRC: INTERIOR BUILDOUT TO EXISTING 24-STORY MIXED-USE, OFFICE BUILDING TO CONVERT INTO MULTI-FAMI…
General & Other$71,650,0002026-10-16
225 W Randolph St #101086662
SELF CERT 2019 CBC: INTERIOR ALTERATIONS TO EXISTING OFFICE FLOORS 10 THROUGH 16 FOR BUILDOUT OF GOLUB CAPI…
General & Other$44,919,0842026-10-06
333 W Wolf Point Plz #101089193
SELF-CERT CBC: INITIAL BUILDOUT OF 56,721 SF COMMERICAL OFFICE SPACE ON 19TH, 20TH, AND 21ST FLOORS (3 CONT…
General & Other$29,000,0002026-10-08
8332 S Dr Martin L King Jr Dr #101081192
DDS 2019 CBC: NEW CONSTRUCTION OF A 52 UNIT SENIOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING. THE PROJECT INCLUDES (44) 1 BEDROO…
New Construction$25,000,0002026-10-09
705 W Chicago Ave #101078267
DDS 2019 CBC: LANDSCAPING, PARK, AND RIVERWALK FOR ADJACENT CASINO, HOTEL, AND EVENT CENTER. (OCC GROUPS A-…
New Construction$22,600,0002026-10-16
315 S Jefferson St #101081111
DDS 2019 CBC: NEW CONSTRUCTION OF A 9-STORY MIXED USE BUILDING WITH BASEMENT ON CAISSONS. THE 1ST FLOOR WI…
New Construction$19,000,0002026-10-05
1700 W Adams St #101084556
DDS 2019 CBC: CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW TWO STORY PRECAST CONCRETE CHURCH WITH AUDITORIUM SEATING, CHILD CARE A…
General & Other$15,000,0002026-10-01
4641 N Ashland Ave #101083833
DDS 2019 CRBC: ERECT A FIVE (5) STORY RESIDENTIAL ADDITION TO AN EXISTING EXISTING FOUR (4) STORY MASONRY B…
General & Other$14,000,0002026-10-14

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