We do many home inspections in Chicago. There are many times we run into poor installations. Heck, never have we found something perfect. Sometimes we find things that are appalling. This porch was built in such a way that is just out-right dangerous. I included a few photos of the porch and put some comments on the issues in the photos.
There are a lot of rules in the Porch Design & Construction Guidelines by the City of Chicago, Department of Buildings.
No railings 
Openings in the guardrails larger than 4″. Supports, posts, and stairs done wrong as well. 
No footing for supports 
Openings in handrails are too big. 
No grip-able handrail and openings that are too big. 
Openings in the guardrails larger than 4″. Supports, posts, and stairs done wrong as well.