The Department of Streets & Sanitation oversees an array of our city services, including but not limited to: street sweeping, snow/leaf removal, trash & recycling, tree maintenance, graffiti removal, and rodent control. Click the drop downs below for more information.

+ STREET SWEEPING

The 1st Ward Street Cleaning map can be found on our Ward Maps page. Click on the section where your address lies to see the specific street sweeping dates in 2024. During street cleaning, you can use this link to type your address into the Sweep Tracker to see if there is a street sweeper assigned to your area. Type in your address here to sign up for reminders of your upcoming street sweeping days.

Beginning April 1 and ending in November (or later, weather permitting), the Department of Streets & Sanitation posts orange paper no-parking signs on residential streets approximately two days in advance of street sweeping and is required to post these at least 24 hours in advance. These signs are removed after the sweeper has completed the area to open parking spots back up to the neighborhood. Permanent street signs posted along commercial/arterial streets indicate the day(s) of the week and times (7AM-9AM) for street sweeping. Failure to move a vehicle from a posted no-parking zone may result in a $60 fine during street sweeping days.

+ SNOW AND LEAF REMOVAL

Snow Removal

Chicago Municipal Code, sections 4-4-310 and 10-8-180, specifies that both homes and businesses must clear snow from sidewalks next to their property. Make Chicago safe for everyone by clearing snow and ice from the public sidewalks around your property. Without a wide, clear path, snow and ice on the sidewalk make it difficult for everyone — especially people with disabilities, seniors, and children — to walk safely. Read Chicago Sidewalk Snow Removal Guide.

Be a good neighbor and offer help to those in your community who are physically unable to clear their own sidewalks. To volunteer as a Snow Angel or read FAQs on snow removal see the City’s webpage.

Leaf Removal

Street drains can quickly get clogged with leaves and other street debris and flood. Please tell your neighbors and landscape companies NOT to rake leaves into the street and gutters. If you do see leaves and debris on top of street drains or catch basins, just rake or sweep up and bag this debris, and dispose in the trash or compose in a yard. Otherwise, the debris could clog the sewer structure. If ponding water remains even after removing leaves and debris from the surface grates, contact our office, and we’ll get the City to schedule the unclogging. To learn techniques for managing storm water click here.

+ TRASH AND RECYCLING

Chicago residential buildings with four or less units are eligible for City scavenging service–AKA the black carts–and City recycling–AKA the blue carts. Black carts are picked up every week, normally on the same day of the week. Blue carts are picked up every two weeks but not necessarily on the same day of the week every time. Please note that carts may be picked up on a different day during a holiday week. For the 1st Ward, click here to find out your garbage and recycling pick-up day for your specific area. If you wish to request a cart replacement or an additional cart, click here or call 311.

Residential building with five or more units and commercial buildings must provide for their own trash pickup and recycling services.

What can I recycle?

Check out Recycle by City for a full list.

+ TREES

The Bureau of Forestry of the Department of Streets and Sanitation is responsible for maintaining our urban forest–Chicago’s half-a-million or so parkway trees. The Bureau of Forestry also coordinates the planting of new parkways trees when funds are available and removes about 7,000 dead or damaged trees annually, grinding their branches into wood chips which are sold or used on playgrounds and vacant lots. City foresters also administer the tree provisions of the City of Chicago’s Landscape Ordinance.

Residents may also request a tree to be planted in their front parkways (if room allows, see Tree Trimming & Planting Guidelines) or for a tree to be inspected if dead or diseased. If deemed more than half-dead, the City will have a tree removed (and stump ground down) but otherwise healthy trees are not removed. As the backlog on tree planting is several years, homeowners may choose to plant a tree in their parkway at their own expense–see procedures.

If you wish to follow up on any tree request contact our office (872) 206-2685.

+ GRAFFITI

Graffiti can be removed from public or private property by the City’s Graffiti Blasters. Graffiti will either be painted over (if the graffiti is on a painted surface) or blasted off with a high pressure baking soda and water solution (if it is on brick, cement or stone). You can report graffiti that is on your property, public property or on someone else’s property.

If you would like to report graffiti, contact our office (872) 206-2685. Be prepared to give the exact address, type of material the surface is on (i.e. unpainted brick, metal, etc), where on the building the graffiti is, and if the graffiti is over 6 feet from the ground.

+ RODENT CONTROL

Rodent abatement services can be obtained by calling 311 or the 1st Ward office. Crews are dispatched to investigate every reported sighting and can provide guidance on rat-proofing private property. Many of the rodent problems that are reported are highly preventable. In addition to residents containing their garbage, dog owners need to clean up after their pets and make sure waste materials are disposed of in sealed containers.

The Department of Streets and Sanitation needs the cooperation of businesses and residents to keep alleys rat free. You can help by making sure your trash is properly contained. Exposed garbage is the primary reason rodents proliferate. If you see a rat or notice conditions that may contribute to rodent activity, please call 311 or contact our office.

How you can help prevent rats:

  • Do not overfill your trash receptacles such that the lid does not seal close.
  • Try to put food scraps in separate smaller bags and place at the bottom of your containers. If possible, save non-food trash till next collection if it’ll overfill the receptacle.
  • Never put a bag with food scraps or food wrappers outside a trash receptacle–rats will chew right into this for a quick meal.
  • If you have a blue cart, put as much clean paper and plastics in there which will save room in the black carts for food scraps and non-recycleables.
  • If your cart has any type of hole, chewed-off area or a missing/defective lid, report this to 311 immediately.
  • If you see a regular occurrence of overfilled receptacles or bags left by them that containing food scraps/wrappers, report it to our office. It doesn’t matter if the receptacles are for houses, apartment buildings, businesses or restaurants.
  • For home gardens and landscaped areas, you may consider laying down “hardware cloth” or chicken wire in garden beds, large planters and other areas where rats may burrow. Rats don’t burrow through metal.

+ SIDEWALKS

To report an issue with the condition of a sidewalk, please report the address to our office (872) 206-2685 to request a “sidewalk survey." Please provide details like whether it is sunken, raised, cracked, missing, etc. A representative from the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) will inspect the location and make one of the following three recommendations:

  • Shared Cost Sidewalk Program (SCSP):Applications must be submitted to 311 after 6:00 a.m. on January 7, 2021. The 50/50 cost is split with the City (so that residents pay $5 per square foot but seniors only pay $2.50 per square foot) and the project is completed later that year. For more details on the SCSP, see here.
  • Sidewalk Repair Program (SRP): In cases where there are significant trip and fall hazards, CDOT may replace the sidewalk at no cost to the property owner.
  • Aldermanic Menu Program: If the SCSP and SRP are not viable options, discretionary and limited funding through the menu program can be considered.
  • Private Contractor: The property owner can also hire a contractor to pull the proper permits and perform the work, but the City does not provide financial assistance in these cases.