CleanPlate Insights

What Chicago's inspection data actually shows.

Original analysis of Chicago's public food inspection records. What restaurants actually fail for, what diners and owners should know, and what the patterns reveal.

Insight · Public Health5 min

The most-cited critical violation in Chicago kitchens? Soap.

We analyzed 56,605 Chicago food inspections. The #1 critical violation isn't food temp or pests. It's the handwashing sink — by 1.7×.

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Insight · Seasonality4 min

Why August is Chicago's worst month for restaurant inspections

Chicago restaurants fail 46% more often in August than December — even within the same inspection type. The pest cycle does most of the work.

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About these analyses

CleanPlate Chicago is an independent project analyzing the City of Chicago's public food inspection records via the Chicago Data Portal. We are not affiliated with the City of Chicago, the Chicago Department of Public Health, or any government agency.

Each article links the underlying methodology and limitations. More about CleanPlate.