KCM Desk

KCM Desk

The KCM Desk is the research and editorial operation behind Keep Chicagoland Moving, a publication of TAK Marketing, LLC. It's a desk, not a person: coverage is produced through intensive Chicago-focused research across public data, agency documents, and local reporting, then reviewed and edited before it publishes. How we work, in detail: keepchicagolandmoving.com/methodology/
  • Joined: June 2, 2023
  • Articles: 213

Which L Stop Logs the Most Entries? Clark/Lake Leads June 2026 — and One Station’s Saturday Average Has Beaten Its Weekday Average in 214 Months

A train arriving at an elevated Chicago L platform with downtown towers behind

The CTA's station-entries file read whole: 43,654 station-month rows since 2001. Clark/Lake leads June 2026, the ten busiest stops take a quarter of the month's 10.8 million entries, Cermak-Chinatown's Saturday average beats its weekday average for the 214th-plus time, the all-time top five all belong to one station label - and four station IDs simply stop appearing. Entries, never systemwide boardings; every label as filed.

Chicago Reads Its Sewers Weekly: Four Viruses, Seven Sites, 237 Weeks — and Every Virus Sat at Minimal in the Newest Week on the File

A steel manhole cover in a wet Chicago street

Since February 2022 Chicago has measured respiratory viruses in its sewers at seven sewershed sites, weekly. Read whole - 6,692 rows, 237 weeks - the file shows four very different ledgers: SARS-CoV-2 with 51 Very High weeks, Influenza B with exactly one, RSV peaking the week that straddled New Year 2024 - and every virus at Minimal in the newest week. Concentrations, never illness counts; every caveat quoted from the file itself.

When Does the Street Sweeper Come? Chicago’s 2026 Schedule Holds 8,545 Section-Sweep Dates, 2,721 Still Ahead — and Two Sections Booked 66 Times

A street sweeper brushing along the curb of a Chicago residential street

When does the sweeper come? Chicago publishes the 2026 answer as a file: 837 ward sections, 8,545 scheduled section-sweep dates from April 1 to November 20 - 2,721 still ahead as of September 7. The median section carries ten dates, two Ward 2 sections carry 66, and the city's own side-of-street convention explains the two-date months. A decision-guide read: what the schedule confirms, what it can't, and where the lookup lives.

Chicago’s Vehicle-Inspection Lane: 38,647 Appointments for 5,330 Cabs, Liveries and Ambulances, a 34 Percent FAILED Share — and One Taxi Booked for 2098

A taxi raised on a lift in a municipal inspection garage bay

Chicago's for-hire inspection lane, read whole: 38,647 appointments for 5,330 taxis, liveries and city-licensed ambulances since 2023 - 7.3 bookings per vehicle, a 34 percent FAILED share of decided results, liveries at 44.8 percent, ambulances at 18.4, one taxi with 30 appointments, three filed under CHANGE_COLOR - and one RETEST on the books for July 15, 2098, marked PASSED, printed as filed.

What Chicago’s TIF Deals Promise, and What Their Reports Show So Far: 1,688 Jobs Projected on the 2025 Reports, 543 in the Actual Column

A mid-rise building under construction on a Chicago commercial street

The TIF annual reports now publish a deal-by-deal jobs scorecard: projections beside actuals for every subsidized redevelopment agreement. Read whole - 110 rows, 2022-2025 - the 2025 reports project 1,688 permanent jobs with 543 in the actual column so far, one agreement promised 70 jobs and reports 130, another promised zero and reports 59, and one projection reads exactly 2.5 jobs, printed as filed. Snapshots, not verdicts - and the file cuts both ways.

Chicago Measures Its Own Air Now: 286 Sensors, 2,544,089 Hourly Readings — and 96 Percent of Its 100-Plus PM2.5 Hours Landed on Two July Dates

An air-quality sensor mounted on a light pole on a hazy Chicago street

Chicago runs its own air-sensor network now: 286 sensors carrying all 77 community-area names, 2,544,089 hourly readings since July 2025, read whole. The PM2.5 record book belongs to two UTC dates - July 16 and 17, 2026, with a 486.8 microgram hour and 96 percent of every 100-plus sensor-hour ever logged - beside an ordinary record where such hours are 0.45 percent of everything. Not for regulatory purposes, says the file itself, and this page keeps every caveat.

8 Chicago Height Records, by the Record: The City That Raised Its Streets, a Footprint File Where Two Stories Is King — and a Stories Column That Tops Out at 110

Brick two-flats in the foreground with the Chicago skyline rising behind

Chicago's height story, with receipts: the streets themselves were raised four to five feet on average in the 1850s, a building among the world's first skyscrapers went up - and came down - at LaSalle and Adams, the Willis Tower held the world title for nearly 25 years, and the city's own footprint file crowns a different king: two stories, 198,439 times. Eight vertical records, every one traceable.

Does Chicago’s Alt-Fuel File Mean a Plug Is Always Near? 350 Public Electric Stations, Just 291 Fast Ports — and the Columns That Decide

An electric car plugged into a public charging station on a Chicago street at dusk

Chicago's alternative-fuel file lists 398 stations, and the short answer is direct: 350 public electric stations marked Available, 283 of them posted 24 hours. The longer answer lives in the columns - 1,043 Level 2 ports against just 291 fast ports, 26 network labels, four ZIP codes holding 38 percent of everything, and a last-confirmed date on nearly every row. A decision-guide read of the whole file.

Before a Shovel Touches Chicago Ground, the Notices Fly: 18,091,229 Utility Notifications Since 2018 — and the City Is the Second-Most-Notified Name on Its Own 811 List

Colored utility marking flags on a Chicago parkway strip beside a sidewalk

Planning a fence post or a tree? Chicago's 811 file is the paper shadow of every dig: 18,091,229 utility notifications since 2018, read at honest grain - 191,071 distinct dig tickets in the biggest year, about a dozen notices per ticket, Peoples Gas first and the City of Chicago itself second among 75 notified names, 223,074 no-show notices, and emergencies just 2.8 percent of the file.

What Car Will Your Ride Be? Chicago’s Rideshare Register Lists 97,695 Vehicles for June 2026 — One in Three a Toyota, and Black Beats Silver by 168 Cars

A line of black and silver sedans parked along a Chicago street at dusk

You tap the app - what car will it be? Chicago's rideshare vehicle register answers: 97,695 vehicles reported for June 2026, one in three a Toyota, the seven most common models all Toyotas, and Black edging Silver by 168 cars. The register runs from model year 2009 to 2027, a third of the fleet reported zero trips, one in five cars is on more than one app - and the companies reported 11,500 more vehicles than drivers.

Moving HereLiving HereCity in MotionNeighborhoods & Suburbs
About · Editorial Policy · Our Data & Methods · Privacy · Terms · Contact
© 2026 Keep Chicagoland Moving · A TAK Marketing, LLC publication · Part of the fabulous Omnishun information systems