Chicago closes half of its traffic-signal-outage reports within about three hours — while the median garbage-cart request takes about 15 days to reach recorded closure. That spread is the story of this list: the eight high-volume 311 request types our response-time analysis timed, 793,774 requests created January 2024 through June 2026, ranked here by median days from creation to recorded closure. One boundary carries through every entry: a closed request is the city’s record that it closed the ticket, not an inspection of the street — the full analysis explains the closure-vs-repair distinction and the method. The ranking covers the eight types the analysis timed, not every request 311 takes, and this page takes no position on any city crew or office.
1. Traffic Signal Out Complaint — median about 3 hours
A dark traffic signal is the request the city moves on fastest in this set — half of the 52,402 requests were closed within about three hours of being filed. Median 0.12 days across 52,402 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 23.3 days.
2. Graffiti Removal Request — median about 17 hours
The highest-volume request type in the timed set: 209,092 graffiti-removal requests, half closed in under a day. Median 0.7 days across 209,092 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 2.8 days.
3. Street Light Out Complaint — median 2.5 days
Half of the 71,855 street-light-out requests were closed within two and a half days; nine in ten within about 14. Median 2.52 days across 71,855 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 13.8 days.
4. Rodent Baiting/Rat Complaint — median 3.6 days
Half of 94,620 rodent-baiting requests were closed within about three and a half days, nine in ten within about 11. Median 3.58 days across 94,620 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 10.7 days.
5. Pothole in Street Complaint — median 5.1 days
The median pothole request closed in about five days — but this list’s widest slow tail lives here: the slowest tenth of 79,940 requests took 89 days or more. Median 5.12 days across 79,940 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 88.9 days.
6. Tree Debris Clean-Up Request — median 5.8 days
Half of 62,299 tree-debris requests closed within about six days; the slowest tenth ran past 41. Median 5.85 days across 62,299 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 41 days.
7. Abandoned Vehicle Complaint — median about 12 days
The second-longest closure times in the set: half of 116,542 abandoned-vehicle requests took up to about 12 days to close. Median 11.6 days across 116,542 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 48.6 days.
8. Garbage Cart Maintenance — median about 15 days
The slowest of the eight: about half of 107,024 garbage-cart maintenance requests closed within about 15 days. Median 14.89 days across 107,024 requests; the 90th-percentile close took 40.8 days.
Questions these numbers can answer
How long does Chicago take to close a pothole 311 request? The median pothole request in the timed window closed in about five days (5.12, across 79,940 requests) — but the slowest tenth took 89 days or more, the widest slow tail in this set. Closure is the city’s recorded ticket closure, not a verified patch.
What does 311 close fastest? Among the eight high-volume types timed, traffic-signal-outage reports: half closed within about three hours. Graffiti removal is next — half of 209,092 requests closed in under a day.
What takes the longest? Garbage-cart maintenance, at a median of about 15 days across 107,024 requests, with abandoned-vehicle complaints behind it at about 12.
Where these numbers come from
The city’s own 311 Service Requests dataset (v6vf-nfxy), read for the eight high-volume request types the parent analysis timed: requests created January 1, 2024 through June 30, 2026, duplicates excluded, elapsed days measured from creation to the city’s recorded closure, as of the July 18, 2026 pull. Selection rules, the open-ticket ledger, and the area-by-area map live in the full analysis: Chicago on the Clock: We Timed 793,774 Service Requests, Neighborhood by Neighborhood.
Computed by KCM Desk from records retrieved July 18, 2026. If you spot an error, corrections come first.