# Illinois New Business Leads - Chicago Business Licenses (`loomwise/illinois-chicago-new-business-licenses`) Actor

New Chicago business licenses from the City of Chicago open data portal, updated daily: contractors, home repair, restaurants, retail. Filter by license type, ZIP or neighborhood. Businesses only. $2/1k.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/loomwise/illinois-chicago-new-business-licenses.md
- **Developed by:** [Loomwise](https://apify.com/loomwise) (community)
- **Categories:** Lead generation, Business, AI
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.00 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.

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

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
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.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## 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.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## Illinois New Business Leads: new Chicago business licenses (daily)

Get **brand-new Chicago business licenses** from the official **City of Chicago Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP)** dataset on data.cityofchicago.org, **updated daily**. Every row is a business that just got licensed to operate in Chicago: home repair contractors, restaurants, retail, pop-ups, tobacco, and more.

In our last 30-day test run this returned **455 new licensed business entities** (out of 617 new licenses; the rest were individuals and are dropped).

Each result has the business name, DBA, license type and business activity, **issue date**, license term, ZIP, ward, community area (neighborhood) and business address.

No browser, no proxies, no login. Runs take seconds.

### Who uses this

- **Suppliers and wholesalers** (food service, POS, signage, insurance) reaching new Chicago restaurants and shops.
- **Contractor-focused sellers** filtering `home repair` licenses.
- **Lead-gen agencies, B2B SaaS, banks, payroll and accounting firms** building fresh Chicago lists by neighborhood or ZIP.
- **Researchers** tracking new business openings by community area.

### Privacy by design

- **Businesses only.** Licenses held by individuals (no LLC, Inc, Corp... in the legal name) are dropped.
- **No owner names, emails or phone numbers.**
- **Apartment-style addresses are withheld.**

### Input

| Field | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| `withinDays` | Issued in the last N days | 30 |
| `dateFrom` / `dateTo` | Exact date window | none |
| `newLicensesOnly` | Skip renewals and changes | true |
| `licenseTypes` | License type or activity contains, e.g. `home repair`, `food` | none |
| `zipCodes` | ZIP prefixes | none |
| `communityAreas` | e.g. `LOOP`, `WEST TOWN` | none |
| `keywords` | Name contains | none |
| `maxResults` | Cap | 100 |

### Output (example)

```json
{
  "businessName": "VENTURES ENDURANCE EVENTS, LLC", "licenseType": "Pop-Up Retail User",
  "businessActivity": "Organizer of Event with Retail Vendors (1-5 Day Show)", "applicationType": "New license",
  "dateIssued": "2026-10-23", "expirationDate": "2026-11-01"
}
```

### Pricing

$2 per 1,000 results (pay per result), plus a tiny per-run start fee.

### Run it on a schedule

Schedule it daily or weekly and send new licenses to Google Sheets, HubSpot, Slack or email with Apify integrations. It also works from AI assistants through the Apify MCP server.

### FAQ

**Is this legal to use?** Yes. The City of Chicago publishes this dataset on its open data portal for public reuse.

*Not affiliated with or endorsed by the City of Chicago.*

### More public-data lead tools from Loomwise

- [federal-opportunities](https://apify.com/loomwise/federal-opportunities): SAM.gov federal contract opportunities and Grants.gov grants (no API key)
- [city-building-permits](https://apify.com/loomwise/city-building-permits): Building permits from 30+ US city open-data portals (contractor, solar, roofing, ADU leads)
- [new-york-contractor-registry](https://apify.com/loomwise/new-york-contractor-registry): Newly registered New York State contractors with compliance flags
- [wa-contractor-licenses](https://apify.com/loomwise/wa-contractor-licenses): Washington State L\&I contractor licenses, new registrations daily
- [oregon-contractor-licenses](https://apify.com/loomwise/oregon-contractor-licenses): Oregon CCB contractor licenses with bond and insurance details
- [connecticut-business-licenses](https://apify.com/loomwise/connecticut-business-licenses): Connecticut business and contractor credentials (new licenses, renewals)
- [texas-contractor-licenses](https://apify.com/loomwise/texas-contractor-licenses): Texas TDLR A/C (HVAC) and electrical contractor licenses
- [texas-new-business-leads](https://apify.com/loomwise/texas-new-business-leads): New Texas businesses from Comptroller sales tax permits
- [colorado-new-business-filings](https://apify.com/loomwise/colorado-new-business-filings): New Colorado LLCs and corporations from the Secretary of State, daily
- [new-york-new-business-filings](https://apify.com/loomwise/new-york-new-business-filings): New New York LLCs and corporations from the Department of State, daily
- [connecticut-new-business-registrations](https://apify.com/loomwise/connecticut-new-business-registrations): New Connecticut businesses with NAICS industry codes, daily
- [oregon-electrical-plumbing-contractors](https://apify.com/loomwise/oregon-electrical-plumbing-contractors): Oregon electrical, plumbing, HVAC/R and solar contractor businesses (BCD)
- [california-new-business-leads](https://apify.com/loomwise/california-new-business-leads): New California businesses in Los Angeles and San Francisco with NAICS codes
- [pennsylvania-philadelphia-business-licenses](https://apify.com/loomwise/pennsylvania-philadelphia-business-licenses): New Philadelphia, Pennsylvania business licenses, daily

# Actor input Schema

## `withinDays` (type: `integer`):

Licenses issued in the last N days.

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

Optional start date (overrides N days).

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

Optional end date (default today).

## `newLicensesOnly` (type: `boolean`):

Only brand-new licenses (skip renewals and changes).

## `licenseTypes` (type: `array`):

e.g. home repair, food, contractor, tobacco.

## `zipCodes` (type: `array`):

e.g. 60614, 606.

## `communityAreas` (type: `array`):

e.g. LOOP, LINCOLN PARK, WEST TOWN.

## `keywords` (type: `array`):

e.g. roofing, coffee.

## `includeAddress` (type: `boolean`):

Apartment-style addresses are withheld.

## `maxResults` (type: `integer`):

Cap on results. You pay per result.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "withinDays": 30,
  "newLicensesOnly": true,
  "licenseTypes": [
    "home repair"
  ],
  "includeAddress": true,
  "maxResults": 100
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

## `runSummary` (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 = {
    "withinDays": 30,
    "licenseTypes": [
        "home repair"
    ],
    "maxResults": 100
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("loomwise/illinois-chicago-new-business-licenses").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 = {
    "withinDays": 30,
    "licenseTypes": ["home repair"],
    "maxResults": 100,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("loomwise/illinois-chicago-new-business-licenses").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 '{
  "withinDays": 30,
  "licenseTypes": [
    "home repair"
  ],
  "maxResults": 100
}' |
apify call loomwise/illinois-chicago-new-business-licenses --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,loomwise/illinois-chicago-new-business-licenses"
        }
    }
}
```

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/7ijmAGw58bvl9MlVG/builds/duXvsfQlALkgv1wTa/openapi.json