Chicago’s $12.5 million rat control ‘unlikely’ to work

(The Center Square) – The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation has promised to improve its rat control efforts, but an audit by the city’s Office of Inspector General found that integration with other city departments would be needed to achieve better long-term results.

The city’s 2026 budget allocates more than $12.5 million to the Bureau of Rodent Control.

OIG chief performance analyst Kevin Smith told The Center Square that the rat abatement program’s primary approach is responding to complaints or rat sightings by applying poison in burrows.

“While rodenticide poison is very effective at killing rats, the problem is is if you’re not eliminating the root causes, the access to food and to water and to shelter, a new generation of rats or maybe an infestation nearby is just gonna come in and fill the void, so you’re really not eliminating the problem,” Smith said.

Smith said Streets and Sanitation, the agency responsible for the rat abatement program and for collecting garbage, agreed to partn...