# Chicago Building Violations Scraper (`parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes Chicago building violations by ward, violation code, case disposition, or date range. Returns each violation as a flat row with case details, status, and location.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Real estate, Automation, Developer tools
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 0 monthly users, 85.7% runs succeeded, 1 bookmarks
- **User rating**: 5.00 out of 5 stars

## Pricing

from $11.99 / 1,000 result items

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Chicago Building Violations Scraper

**Scrape Chicago building violations by ward, code, disposition, or date range.** Each violation comes with its case details, status, and location. No login or API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Chicago's building violations data is public but scattered across a clunky portal. This Actor reads the city's violation records directly, filtered by ward, violation code, disposition, or date range, and returns each match in one fixed schema.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Chicago Building Violations for |
|---|---|
| Real estate investors | Find distressed properties with open violations before they hit the market |
| Property managers | Monitor violation histories for buildings they manage or plan to acquire |
| Journalists | Investigate patterns of building code enforcement across neighborhoods |
| Urban planners | Analyze violation density by ward to identify areas needing intervention |
| Insurance underwriters | Assess property risk based on violation frequency and severity |

### What it does

This Actor collects Chicago building violations by ward, violation code, case disposition, or date range, and returns each one as a flat row.

- 📍 **Ward filter:** narrow results to a specific Chicago ward (1-50)
- 🔢 **Violation code filter:** target a specific code like '190019'
- ⚖️ **Disposition filter:** select Liable, Not Liable, Default, or other statuses
- 📅 **Date range:** set start and end dates for violation dates
- 🔢 **Max items:** control how many violations to collect per run

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Chicago Building Violations data

**🏠 Find distressed properties.**

A real estate investor runs the Actor for a specific ward and date range to identify buildings with recent violations, then cross-references with property listings to find motivated sellers.

**📊 Track enforcement trends.**

A journalist scrapes violations by disposition and ward over several months to reveal which neighborhoods receive more citations and how cases are resolved.

**🏢 Assess portfolio risk.**

An insurance underwriter pulls violation histories for all properties in a portfolio to adjust premiums based on code compliance.

**🗺️ Map violation hotspots.**

An urban planner collects violations by ward and date range to create heat maps showing where building safety issues concentrate.

### Why choose this scraper

|  | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No login or API key** | Access public violation data without registration |
| **Flexible filters** | Combine ward, code, disposition, and date range |
| **Structured output** | Each violation as a flat row ready for analysis |
| **Export options** | CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML for any workflow |

### How it compares

No other Store actor targets Chicago Building Violations the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

| | Chicago Building Violations Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When Chicago Building Violations changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor from ward, violation code, case disposition, and date range, alone or together, and filters run as each violation is read so only matches reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
  "maxItems": 200
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.01599 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $1.60 |
| 1,000 results | $15.99 |
| 10,000 results | $159.90 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Chicago Building Violations Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Chicago Building Violations through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check your filters. If you set a ward, violation code, disposition, or date range that has no matching violations, the Actor returns an empty dataset. Try broadening the date range or removing some filters.

**The Actor is taking too long.**

Reduce the 'Maximum violations' input. The Actor stops after collecting that many records, so a lower number finishes faster.

**I got an error about the ward number.**

Ward must be an integer between 1 and 50. Check that you entered a valid number.

**The date format is not working.**

Use YYYY-MM-DD format, for example 2025-01-01. Do not use slashes or other separators.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What data does this Actor return? | It returns Chicago building violations with case details, status, and location. The exact fields are shown in the sample output. |
| Do I need an API key or login? | No. The Actor reads public violation data directly from the City of Chicago's portal. |
| Can I filter by multiple wards? | The input accepts a single ward number. To get multiple wards, run the Actor multiple times or use a separate integration. |
| What date format should I use? | Use YYYY-MM-DD, for example 2025-01-01. |
| How many violations can I collect? | Set the 'Maximum violations' input to any number from 1 upward. The default is 10. |
| What is a violation code? | A code like '190019' that identifies the specific building code section violated. |
| What does 'case disposition' mean? | The outcome of the case, such as Liable, Not Liable, or Default. |
| Can I export the data? | Yes, you can export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify dataset. |
| Is this data updated in real time? | The Actor scrapes the current public records each time it runs, so you get the latest available data. |
| Can I schedule this Actor to run regularly? | Yes, you can set up a schedule in Apify to run it daily, weekly, or at any interval. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by City of Chicago. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `ward` (type: `integer`):

Filter by Chicago ward number (1-50).

## `violationCode` (type: `string`):

Filter by violation code. Example: '190019'

## `caseDisposition` (type: `string`):

Filter by case disposition (for example: Liable, Not Liable, Default).

## `dateFrom` (type: `string`):

Start date for violation date range (YYYY-MM-DD). Example: '2025-01-01'

## `dateTo` (type: `string`):

End date for violation date range (YYYY-MM-DD). Example: '2025-12-31'

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many building violations to collect per run.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `overview` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "maxItems": 10 }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10
}' |
apify call parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/chicago-building-violations-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/XMy3rOf6t05tMs2nj/builds/kmgH3s3GomM17Xtf8/openapi.json