Over 3-in-5 Chicago businesses disappeared since 2005

Total annual business license approvals by license type between 2005 and 2024.

Chicago temporarily suspended business license expirations during the pandemic. "Other" includes licenses for businesses that moved, changed their capacity record, expanded locations with a liquor license or changed their activity business record.
Chart: @illinoispolicySource: Chicago Data Portal – Business LicensesGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper