Good news for anyone who’s ever sprinted through Wicker Park in search of a bathroom: Chicago is finally getting its first city-backed public restroom—and yes, it’ll clean itself.
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st) confirmed that after years of lobbying, permits and polite but urgent public pleas, a free, standalone restroom is officially on its way. The futuristic loo will open somewhere in the 1st Ward in 2026, though the exact location is still under wraps. “The contract is now signed and counter-signed,” La Spata told Block Club Chicago this week. “The unit is being refurbished; the infrastructure estimate is being drawn up. We are really doing this.”
The toilet will come courtesy of JCDecaux, the same French company responsible for the city’s bus shelters and other street furniture. It’s part of Chicago’s existing contract with the company, which means there will be no direct cost for the unit itself—but installation expenses like sewer and water connections will come from La Spata’s annual “menu” funds for ward improvements. That tab will likely land “in the low six figures,” he said.
This will be a self-cleaning, timed-entry restroom, complete with automatic sanitization between uses and restricted hours to prevent anyone from moving in. The Chicago Department of Transportation is managing logistics and permits in collaboration with other city departments.
La Spata first pushed for public bathrooms back in 2021 with Ald. Rossana Rodriguez-Sanchez (33rd), arguing that accessible restrooms are a basic civic service, not a luxury. “This is an everybody amenity, but it’s especially helpful for our seniors and families with small children,” he told NBC Chicago. “I say that as someone who frequently travels with a 3-year-old who has to go potty at a moment’s notice.”
He’s realistic about how long progress takes (“It took us three years to get this one,” he admitted) but hopes the pilot will prove it’s possible to scale the effort citywide. After all, a 2021 report by the Chicago Tribune found that Chicago has fewer than 500 public restrooms without barriers like client-only access or security checkpoints.
If all goes well, the days of panic-scrolling Google Maps for “open bathrooms near me” might finally be numbered.