Construction
If you’re reaching out about a construction-related request, your request may be directed to a Chicago Department of Transportation public way inspector, the Department of Buildings, or our office. Click on the type of request below that best matches your request:
Construction Updates
If there are no parking signs on your block and you are wondering what type of work may be happening, you can use Chi Street Work to find any permits associated with the address. In the permit, you will find a contact and phone number that you can use to ask questions. Be wary of treating the dates on the permit as the exact dates of work. Oftentimes, this time range is longer than the actual work, as they take out permits to give them enough flexibility in case of inclement weather or other unpredictable factors. In other cases, the dates on the permit may be shorter than the work is anticipated to take, and they may ask for these permits to be renewed. The best way to get an exact range of dates for work is by calling the phone number listed on the permit.
If Chi Street Work does not include a PDF of the permit, they may instead include a permit number. You can use the address or permit number to search the address on Permit Look Up to find a full history of permits for this address. If you have questions that you aren’t able to answer using Chi Street Work and Permit Look Up, feel free to email our office about the work and we’ll try to get in touch with the site. It’s always helpful that you include a permit number or an exact address when contacting our office.
Steps
Go to Chi Street Work to find associated permits. Here you can find a phone number to contact the construction site.
If you can’t find the permit on Chi Street Works, try using the Permit Look Up portal.
If you still have questions, you can contact our office at info@aldermanmartin.com. Please include a permit number or exact address of work.
Construction Complaints
If you have a complaint about a construction site and want them to be more respectful of neighbors, you can contact our office at info@aldermanmartin.com. Common complaints that our office receives involve loud construction noise, especially late at night or early in the morning. Based on the Chicago noise ordinance, construction sites cannot begin set up before 7 AM and cannot begin loud noise before 8 AM. It is important to know that public works (Chicago Water Management, Chicago Department of Transportation, etc.) are exempt from the Chicago noise ordinance. We understand that this can be frustrating. We do our best to work with city departments to be as mindful as possible for neighbors when completing necessary early morning or late work.
If your complaint regards construction vehicles blocking the public way, please send photos the vehicles to info@aldermanmartin.com. It’s extremely helpful if you can include date, time, address, and the vehicle’s license plate number.
Steps
[IF NOISE RELATED] Confirm that the construction site is violating the Chicago noise ordinance. If so, contact 911 for immediate enforcement. You can email info@aldermanmartin.com and we can request that the site corrects this behavior in the future.
[IF VEHICLE RELATED] Send photos of the offending vehicles to info@aldermanmartin.com. Be sure to include a date, time, and license plate number. You can also call 911 for issues in progress that need immediate response.
[IF RELATED TO ABANDONED EQUIPMENT] If a construction site has left behind sawhorses or other equipment, please email photos to info@aldermanmartin.com. Include an approximate timeframe for how long the equipment has been abandoned.
[IF RELATED TO RESTORATION] If work involved tearing up the street or curb and the crew failed to properly restore the road, please email photos to info@aldermanmartin.com.
[IF RELATED TO DAMAGED PRIVATE PROPERTY] If city workers or contractors damaged your property while completing construction work, please send detailed documentation and photos to info@aldermanmartin.com. Please note that our office is sometimes limited in its ability to act in matters that constitute a private dispute between neighbors.
[IF OTHER] Send a detailed email to info@aldermanmartin.com. Please include relevant photos.
Additional Resources
Construction Violations
If you suspect that a construction site is committing a major construction violation like un-permitted or hazardous work, you can submit a request to 311. The Department of Buildings or the Chicago Department of Transportation will send an inspector out to investigate and issue a fine if appropriate. If there’s a construction that you find is frequently committing construction violations, we always appreciate if you can send documentation to info@aldermanmartin.com so that we can monitor the site.
Steps
Go to CHI311 and submit a request for a construction complaint.
If you need help submitting your request through 311’s online portal, view our help article on submitting service requests.
Have a suggestion about how to improve services?
We always welcome suggestions on how to improve city services, so we can pass the feedback along to the Department and the Mayor’s office. Please send feedback and suggestions to info@aldermanmartin.com. It’s important to know that our city budget plays a significant role in determining the quality and timeliness of service that departments can provide. You can sign up for updates about the budget process and our town halls here.