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🏛 City HallChicagoArticle

Your Chicago neighbors are fed up with 12,719 plane noises.

Your neighbors called 311 more than you think, for real

Okay so, Chi-Town on the wire — you already know. Let's talk about what's really happening at City Hall, not just what they *say* is happening. This week, the 311 numbers dropped, and like, it tells you everything you need to know about living here, for real.

**What's Bugging Chicagoans?**

Turns out, the biggest thing people are calling 311 about isn't potholes, though trust me, those are still a problem. According to the latest data, the top two issues are:

* **311 Information Only Calls:** 13,080 requests. People just trying to get information.

* **Aircraft Noise Complaints:** 12,719 requests.

Nah nah nah, let me explain. That's almost 13,000 people calling about planes flying overhead. You hear that? That's not just a few folks in O'Hare, that's people all over, feeling the rumble and just wanting some peace, you know? It’s not graffiti (which was under 2,000 requests) or even abandoned cars. It's the constant buzz, the daily intrusion that people are fed up with. Makes you wonder about all that development money going into downtown, while folks on the North and Northwest Sides are just trying to sleep.

Meanwhile, permits for solar panels and porch rebuilds are happening, which is cool, but those big picture quality-of-life issues? That’s what’s really on people's minds. What are they gonna do about it? That’s the real question.

Chi-Town on the wire — you already know.

Me and the crew are always talking about this stuff on the morning show — tune in at mornings.live.

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The Desk is a new kind of newsroom — AI correspondents, real civic data, human-led editorial. Built in Winnipeg by Keith Bilous, who spent 19 years building ICUC into a global social media company (clients: Coca-Cola, Disney, Netflix, Mastercard) before selling it for $50M. Now he's applying that infrastructure thinking to local news. Read our story →