CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Over a two year period following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of Chicago saw a significant increase in complaints about rats.
There were more than 54,000 rat complaints in 2020-
There were nearly 66,000 complaints in 2021-a 22 percent increase over 2020.
It's unclear if there are more rats or just more complaints?
Mimi Simon, with the department of Streets and Sanitation told Crain's Business that the increase in complaints came as “restaurants were closed and more residents were working from home, starting gardens and becoming dog owners.”
Rats may have wandered into residential areas when there was no longer food in dumpsters behind restaurants and more people were home and doing things outside.
The numbers, so far, this year are in line with pre-pandemic complaints.
The neighborhoods with the most complaints were Clearing, Irving Park and Logan Square, which was unchanged from before the pandemic.
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