Chicago's first self-cleaning public toilet is open in the Polish Triangle. It cost more than a quarter of a ward's yearly menu money

Chicago's first self-cleaning public restroom opened Wednesday in the Polish Triangle, where Milwaukee, Ashland and Division meet next to the CTA's Division Blue Line station, the Chicago Sun-Times and Block Club Chicago reported. It is free and open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Why it matters: neighbors from Rogers Park to Uptown have asked the City for public restrooms, and no agency has claimed the job (our October story). This pilot shows one way a ward can do it on its own, and what it costs.

How it works

From the Sun-Times:

• Who runs it: JCDecaux, an outdoor advertising company, provides and maintains the unit at no cost to the City, under the Coordinated Street Furniture Program, which CDOT runs with the City's chief financial officer.
• Who paid to install it: Ald. Daniel La Spata's (1st) office said installation cost "more than $400,000, including plumbing," paid from the ward's aldermanic "menu" money.
• Use: one person at a time; after each use the toilet and floor are washed and disinfected automatically. JCDecaux has shown interest in hiring an attendant, La Spata said.
• Evaluation: the City expects monthly use figures from JCDecaux and will judge the pilot on safety and use. La Spata suggested a look after about a year. Other alderpersons and the Park District have expressed interest, he said.

"Global cities provide this amenity to all of their residents," La Spata told the Sun-Times.

What our records add

The menu math. Each ward gets about $1.5 million a year in menu money for streets, sidewalks, curbs and lights, members said at CDOT's Oct. 29 budget hearing (our story). At more than $400,000, this restroom used more than a quarter of one year's allotment, about what it would take to repave five side streets at the roughly $78,000 per street Ald. Anthony Napolitano (41st) cited. The menu is paid for with general obligation bonds the Council approves and property taxes repay.

No Council vote. The project went through the ward's menu and City departments, with no ordinance. We found no Council ordinance or order on public restroom access, hours or funding in our records since 2023 (our earlier search).

The hours gap. Like park restrooms in the 49th Ward, which Ald. Maria Hadden said close at 7 p.m., this one is closed overnight, when CTA riders and people without homes have the fewest options.

La Spata's wider record. He chairs the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee, which votes Friday on the Mayor's Divvy extension (our story).

What's next

CDOT plans to send members their 2027 menu price lists in December, the department told the Budget Committee. That's when other alderpersons would decide whether to spend their own menu money on a restroom.