01 — Permit leads · Chicago

Chicago permit leads: the project, what it’s worth, and who’s building it

Every week, Chicago publishes the building permits it just issued — with the project address, the reported job cost, and the contractors on the job. I pull the commercial ones and send you the spreadsheet.

The limits, up front. The city publishes no phone numbers, emails, or ZIP codes on permits. The reported cost is the applicant’s own figure, missing on about a quarter of rows. Blank stays blank — I don’t fill gaps with guesses. And Chicago publishes no commercial/residential flag, so I classify each permit from the city’s own work description (a commercial use named, a mixed-use project, or a multifamily building of 3+ units). Permits whose descriptions don’t say what the building is get excluded, not guessed at.

02 — What’s in a drop

Address, cost, and the crew on the job

Each drop (CSV + Excel) covers commercial permits issued in Chicago in the last 7 days, pulled from the city’s open permit records, updated daily at the source. Columns: permit number, issue date, permit type, work description, project address, community area, reported cost, general contractor as published, and the other named contractors — most rows name two or three.

03 — What the data actually looks like

I checked a full month before selling it

Permits issued September 21 – October 21, 2026:

3,007permits issued in 30 days; 394 classified commercial by the work-description filter — about 90 sellable rows per weekly drop
100%of commercial rows carry the project street address. Community area on 99%.
74.1%of commercial rows carry a reported cost — median $147,440, $405.6 million of commercial project value in the 30 days, 49 permits at $1 million or more
98.0%of commercial rows name a contractor; a named general contractor on 64.7%. Commercial rows average 5.7 named contacts and 2.9 named contractors each.
195renovation/alteration permits — the biggest commercial type that month, then Express Permit Program 159, New Construction 29, Signs 7, Wrecking/Demolition 4
0ZIP codes on permits (street address, community area, and ward instead). No phone numbers or emails.

04 — Who buys it

For people who prospect projects

GCs and subs scouting active projects. Supplier and rental sales reps working a territory. Commercial insurance agents. People who prospect projects and the contractors on them.

05 — Packages

Pick a length. The data’s the same.

First Drop

One real week — the paid trial

$45

1 weekly drop

All commercial permit types
Per-area summary (counts by community area)
Cover sheet with date range + exact row count
CSV + Excel
No community-area / minimum-cost filters
No per-contractor activity ranking
No new-business-licenses sheet

Order First Drop — $45

Four Mondays

A month of Mondays, in a row

$165

4 consecutive weekly drops

All commercial types, or filtered to your types
Community-area / minimum-cost filters
Per-area summary (counts by community area)
Per-contractor activity ranking, busiest first
Cover sheet with date range + exact row count
CSV + Excel
No new-business-licenses sheet

Order Four Mondays — $165

Full Quarter

Twelve weeks, plus the licenses sheet

$445

12 consecutive weekly drops

All commercial types, or filtered to your types
Community-area / minimum-cost filters
Per-area summary (counts by community area)
Per-contractor activity ranking, busiest first
New Chicago business licenses sheet — one monthly sheet per month covered
Cover sheet with date range + exact row count
CSV + Excel

Order Full Quarter — $445

Extras: a 90-day backfill file is $75. A monthly new-business-licenses sheet is $25 for First Drop and Four Mondays buyers — that feed does include ZIPs. Ask about contractor contact enrichment or other metros before ordering — those are custom quotes, not checkbox extras.

06 — How drops work

Monday, every Monday

Drops go out Monday, covering the previous Monday to Sunday. The cover sheet states the exact date range and row count. Thin week, thin count — I don’t pad lists to hit a number. Holiday and bad-weather weeks run thinner. If a drop ever comes in under 25 commercial rows, message me and I’ll extend your package by a week.

07 — Order

Start with one week

Orders go through Fiverr. The $45 First Drop is the paid trial: one real week of Chicago commercial permits, priced for a sales rep’s expense card.

Order on Fiverr

Questions first? hello@newliststudio.com

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