Health inspectors who visited Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago last December found flies buzzing around the kitchen and bar, wastewater pooling across the main kitchen floor, food held at unsafe temperatures, and staff preparing sushi and handling burger buns without gloves, according to official records published on the Chicago Data Portal.
A city inspector from the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) visited the Near North Side property on December 17, 2025, and issued citations against the main kitchen and the rooftop restaurant known as Terrace 16. The hotel’s Rebar Lounge and banquets area, inspected during the same visit, received passing grades.
In the main kitchen, three prep sinks were found to be draining wastewater directly onto the kitchen floor, and a dishwasher was not properly sanitising dishes and utensils. Inspectors also found that perishable food items were being held at temperatures between 46 and 53 degrees Fahrenheit, above the safe threshold, and that shellfish were stored without the required sell-by or serve-by date labels.
Workers Without Gloves, Bathroom Without Soap
The violations extended beyond plumbing and temperature control. Inspectors counted more than ten small flies throughout the bar area at Terrace 16 and three more in the dishwashing section, instructing management to arrange pest control for all affected areas. A cracked ice machine lid and debris buildup inside a prep cooler and on the floor beneath sinks added to the list of citations.
Staff members were observed handling food without gloves, including assembling sushi toppings and loading burger buns. The employee bathroom was also found to have no hand soap stocked.
A follow-up inspection on December 23 found that the hotel had cleared both the main kitchen and Terrace 16, with only the cracked ice machine lid remaining unresolved at the time of the return visit.
Part of a Wider Pattern
The Chicago findings are the latest in a string of health compliance failures at Trump-branded properties across the United States. In May 2025, the Somerset County Department of Health visited Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and issued 18 health code violations, giving the club a score of 32 out of 100, the lowest recorded in the county that month. Nine of the 18 violations were classified as critical, and the inspector’s report noted that the person in charge of the kitchen demonstrated no knowledge of food safety and that no one on site held food manager-level certification. The club’s general manager called the findings a politically motivated attack.
In November 2025, the Westchester County Department of Health inspected Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, and cited the venue for five violations, including the presence of insects and rodents, dirty surfaces, and food stored uncovered or on the floor.
The Chicago hotel has faced broader regulatory trouble as well. In September 2024, a Cook County Circuit Court judge found the property had violated the Illinois Environmental Protection Act by operating a cooling intake system on the Chicago River that trapped and killed thousands of fish.
The Trump Organization did not issue a public statement in response to the December health inspection results.
