7 Things Under Chicago, by the Record: Raised Streets, a Freight-Tunnel Flood — and Tunnels 300 Feet Down

An old underground freight tunnel with rail tracks receding into darkness

Seven things under Chicago, each traced to a named record: streets raised four to five feet on average in the 1850s, buildings lifted one owner at a time, a forgotten freight-tunnel network that flooded the Loop with 250 million gallons of river water in 1992, a Pedway linking more than 40 blocks, a separate government's 110 miles of tunnels up to 300 feet down, and the 811 file that logs what diggers hit. Every quote verified against its source; every figure of ours labeled.

Chicago’s Rideshare Roster: 86,195 Driver Records in June 2026, Little More Than Half Its 2017 Peak — and a Third of Them Recorded Zero Trips

Parked sedans on a wet Chicago street at night

The companies must report their eligible drivers to the city monthly, and the register runs 12,014,008 driver-month rows since 2015. June 2026: 86,195 driver records - 6.5 per active chauffeur license, and little more than half the March 2017 peak of 154,619. A third recorded zero trips, 29.5 percent drive for more than one company, 57.9 percent started within a year, 40.9 percent list Chicago addresses, and every row reads Independent Contractor. The file has no name column.

Chicago’s Chauffeur Register Holds More Expired Licenses Than Active Ones — 13,758 to 13,274 — and Its Oldest Active License Record Was Issued in 1965

The empty driver's seat of a parked Chicago taxi at dusk

Behind every licensed Chicago cab is a second license: the person's. The Public Chauffeurs register holds 29,935 license records - 13,274 ACTIVE, 13,758 EXPIRED, 941 DENIED - with the oldest active record issued in 1965, 44 percent of active licenses minted since 2022, half of active records listing addresses outside Chicago, 149 active pedicab chauffeurs, and 161 horse-drawn rows the file still remembers. The name and sex columns were never selected.

The Park District’s Event File Is Three Calendars in One: 96,765 Permit Rows, 40,553 Administrative Reservations, 5,048 Venue Rentals — and 13 Rows Marked Denied Since 2012

A Chicago lakefront park lawn with picnic tables on a summer morning

The Chicago Park District - a separate government from the city - keeps a reservation ledger of 142,366 rows, 2012 into future-dated 2026 bookings. Read by its own labels it is three calendars: 96,765 permit rows (98 percent marked Approved; 13 denial-labeled rows in fifteen years), 40,553 administrative reservations, and 5,048 venue rentals, 1,867 of them weddings. Athletic training is one permit row in three, and the most-reserved space in the file is a greenhouse. No applicant name was queried.

In Chicago’s Big-Building Energy File, 769 Buildings Wear Four Stars and 564 Wear Zero — and 542 Didn’t File for 2023

Chicago high-rise windows lit unevenly at dusk

The city's energy-benchmarking file is a report card on 3,852 big buildings, one row per building per reporting year. In the 2023 vintage: 769 buildings wear the 4-star placard and 564 wear zero; 2,584 filed and 542 did not; the average K-12 school scores 25.3 points below the average office; one building records a perfect 100; and the filers sum to 637 million square feet and 4.59 million tons of reported greenhouse gas. The file's last portal update: February 5, 2025.

In June 2026, a Chicago Taxi Mile Cost $4.17 and a Rideshare Mile $4.21 — and the Fare Dollar Split Opposite Ways

A Chicago taxi crossing a downtown river bridge in late-afternoon light

In June 2026 a mile in a Chicago taxi cost $4.17 and a mile in a rideshare $4.21 - 3.4 cents apart, computed from the city's own trip files by the identical formula. The money splits opposite ways: 81 cents of the taxi dollar is metered fare; 60 cents of the rideshare dollar is fare and almost 35 is the additional-charges line. Plus: the taxi mile is up 9.3 percent since 2024, two airport-area community areas supply a fifth of pickups, about 2,900 cabs are working, and cash tips all but never reach the file.

Chicago’s 2026 Budget Carries 27,924 Annual Positions. The Employee File Runs 1,546 Below It at the Police Department Alone — and the Top Budgeted Salary Belongs to the Aviation Commissioner.

The marble lobby and brass elevator doors of a grand Chicago municipal building

The mayor's 2026 budget proposal carries 27,924 annual positions - plus 3.2 million budgeted hours and 794 budgeted months this page never adds to them. Beside the August employee file: police budgeted 13,727, on payroll 12,181. Police Officer is 31 percent of every budgeted position; the top budgeted salary is the Aviation Commissioner's $350,000, above the superintendent and the mayor.

Chicago’s Taxi Medallions, Sale by Recorded Sale: A $357,000 Median in 2013, $6,000 in 2026 — and the File’s Most Frequent Seller Is the City Itself

Parked Chicago taxis on a side street beneath elevated train tracks on an overcast day

The city records every taxi-medallion transfer it processes: 5,729 closings since 2007. The median recorded sale was $357,000 in 2013 and $6,000 in 2026 - a 98.3 percent collapse, with transfers nearly stopping (21 in 2015) before prices gave way. One medallion fell from $380,000 to $12,000; the file's most frequent seller is the city's own BACP. Prices from positive-price sales; 166 $0 transfers counted apart.

11 of Chicago’s Most Haunted Places: The Stories as They’re Told — and What the Record Shows at Each of Them

Wrought-iron cemetery gates at dusk with mist, old monuments and a hazy Chicago skyline beyond

The eleven places where Chicago's ghost stories are told, each set against the record: the Iroquois fire's 602 dead per the city library, the Eastland's 844 per the historical society, the Park District's own page on the tomb in Lincoln Park, Jane Addams's firsthand 1916 account of the Devil Baby, five city-landmark buildings - and no ghost in any record this page reviewed. Every quoted sentence checked against its source page.

The Ten Chicago Community Areas With the Most City-Listed Affordable Rental Units: Grand Boulevard Leads With 2,406 of 29,550 — and Humboldt Park Has the Most Developments, 48

A Chicago boulevard with a grassy median lined by brick apartment buildings and greystones

Grand Boulevard holds 2,406 of the 29,550 units on the city's Affordable Rental Housing Developments list - 8.1 percent - and Humboldt Park has the most developments, 48. The ten community areas with the most city-listed units, with development counts beside them, from the city's list as updated December 30, 2024; listed units, not availability; eleven areas carry none.

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