City of Chicago Info:
https://data.cityofchicago.org/
To find out what legal permits the city has issued anywhere in the city, especially if you see someone working on a property you can look to see if they have a city permit.
https://data.cityofchicago.org/Buildings/Building-Permits/ydr8-5enu
https://webapps.cityofchicago.org/buildingviolations/violations/searchaddresspage.html
Alderman Spending for 2015:
http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/obm/supp_info/CIP_Archive/Aldermanic%20Menu/WardDetail2015.pdf