Thanks for the great comment EF! I wasn't aware of the City of Chicago's search engine, it's good to know it's out there. I'm going to update the blog with this new information. I've also sent your comment over to the folks over at ChicagoTribune.com to make sure they read your feedback. I can't seem to find a link to the Sun-Times story you mentioned, but if you come across it online, be sure to let me know so I can post that as well. Thanks EF!

Marcus

This isn't anything new or innovative. The city health department has the same exact search on their website.

Here's what WOULD be beneficial to me as a consumer:

The way the inspection data is stored and presented, you only see the latest inspection report. This means that if I am a proprietor and I fail an inspection, my "FAIL" status will only be visible until I correct the infractions (usually a couple of days). The loophole here is that there's no simple way of knowing how MANY times an establishment has failed inspection.

So if the Tribune IT department really wanted to add value they would present HISTORICAL inspection data. This would serve to better gauge the overall cleanliness of an establishment. An establishment with multiple inspection failures would rightfully be viewed in a much worse light than one who failed a single inspection.

Also, the information is available by submitting a freedom of information request. Unfortunately most citizens do not have the time to do this. The Sun-Times did a featured in 2006 entitled "Chicago's Dirty Dozen". This article was incredibly helpful and the writer did a great job of researching and finding historical information on establishments that continuously fail inspections.

BTW, here is the direct link to the search engine provided by the city:

http://webapps.cityofchicago.org/health/inspection.jsp

Thanks.