Civic data guides
Plain-language guides to reading the public record — who owns a property, how to read a zoning district, what a building-code violation means. Each one ends where it should: a live lookup for your own address.
- How to find out who owns a propertyThe three official routes to the owner of record in Franklin and Cook counties — and how to start from an address.
- Chicago building code violations: look up any addressThe OPEN/COMPLIED violation lifecycle, what a violation means, and how to look up any Chicago address.
- The Chicago zoning ordinance, explainedHow to read a Chicago zoning district string — the letters, the numbers, and what each family allows.
- What is my property zoned?Find your zoning district in Columbus and Chicago, and what it controls — starting from your address.