Graffiti Removal Services
Graffiti is vandalism. It scars the community, hurts property values and diminishes our quality of life. The Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation offers free graffiti removal services to private property owners to help maintain the beauty of our communities.
To report graffiti or request its removal, call the city's service request line at 3-1-1 or click on the button below.
The Graffiti Removal Program employs "blast" trucks that use baking soda under high water pressure to remove painted graffiti from brick, stone and other mineral surfaces. The program also deploys paint trucks to cover graffiti on surfaces such as metal or wood.
As with the City's many anti-crime and beautification programs, we depend on community groups, block clubs, chambers of commerce and individual residents to reach out to us for this invaluable service. If a cleaned building is struck again, we make every effort to return and remove the new graffiti quickly.
The Department of Streets and Sanitation also works very closely with the Chicago Police Department who will apprehend graffiti vandals caught defacing property. Parents or guardians may be liable for monetary damages, if a minor in the same household commits any type of vandalism, including graffiti.
No community in Chicago has to tolerate graffiti. Please join us in eliminating graffiti and maintaining the beauty of Chicago.