# Rogers Park and Uptown neighbors want public restrooms. No City agency says the problem is its job

*Park restrooms close at 7 p.m., Ald. Maria Hadden told Block Club, and the 1st Ward is about to test a self-cleaning toilet. Our records show no Council ordinance on public restrooms.*

By Chicago Politics · Updated Oct 26, 2026

Residents of Rogers Park and Uptown say they are finding more human waste on sidewalks, in parks and near CTA stations, and that no City agency will say who is responsible, [Block Club Chicago reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/26/debate-over-human-waste-in-public-spaces-triggers-call-for-public-restrooms-in-rogers-park-uptown/) Monday. When Block Club asked, agencies referred the reporter elsewhere or declined to answer, according to the story.

Why it matters: Chicago has few public restrooms open after evening hours. The gap falls hardest on people without homes and on late-night transit riders, and the cleanup lands on neighbors, businesses and park staff.

## What officials have said

Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) told Block Club her office has not received many complaints about human waste, but that she has talked with the Chicago Park District about portable or self-cleaning toilets. Park restrooms in the 49th Ward usually open at 11 a.m. and close at 7 p.m., she said, leaving about 16 hours a day without an option.

In the 1st Ward, Ald. Daniel La Spata is preparing to open what Block Club described as the city's first self-cleaning public restroom, in the Polish Triangle near the Division CTA station. La Spata told Block Club he hopes it shows other alderpersons the units are "safe and sanitary." It will not be open overnight, Block Club reported.

A staff attorney with the Chicago Coalition to End Homelessness told Block Club that the lack of restrooms is a top concern for people without homes, and that cities such as Paris and Hong Kong have shown it can be solved with coordinated investment.

## What our records add

**No restroom ordinance in our records.** We searched the Council's key legislation and our meeting notes since 2023 for public restrooms. We found no ordinance or order on public restroom access, hours or funding. Restrooms have come up mostly as part of other business: Park District and school building repairs funded by tax increment financing, and airport terminals.

**The closest debate was about CTA workers.** At a May 2024 hearing with then-CTA President Dorval Carter, Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), whose ward includes part of Uptown, asked for a commitment to address bathroom access for CTA workers ([watch at 2:39:26](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/5597B6A4-7C02-EF11-A1FE-001DD804AF4C?t=9566)). Public commenters at the same hearing raised worker bathrooms too, according to our notes.

**Who answers for it.** Hadden's comments point to the Chicago Park District, which runs park restrooms and their hours, and the CTA, whose stations several residents described. Neither is on the Council's department-by-department [budget hearing schedule](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/chicago-budget-hearings-schedule-department-by-department-2027) this fall. Block Club reported that City agencies it contacted either referred questions elsewhere or declined to answer.

**The budget connection.** Mayor Brandon Johnson's 2027 budget adds $15 million for homeless services, [as we reported](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/chicago-2027-budget-libraries-homelessness-youth-jobs-cuts).

## What's next

The 1st Ward restroom is the test case to watch. The Department of Family and Support Services, which runs homeless services, testifies at the Council's budget hearings on Nov. 6, and the Department of Transportation, which manages the public way, testifies Oct. 29 ([hearing schedule](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/chicago-budget-hearings-schedule-department-by-department-2027)).


## Sources

1. Block Club Chicago: [Block Club Chicago reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/26/debate-over-human-waste-in-public-spaces-triggers-call-for-public-restrooms-in-rogers-park-uptown/)
2. City of Chicago: [Neighborhood and community area boundaries (Chicago Data Portal)](https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/y6yq-dbs2)

On the map: [Rogers Park](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/neighborhoods/rogers-park), [Uptown](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/neighborhoods/uptown)

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Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/rogers-park-uptown-public-restrooms-human-waste-city-response · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt