I think you are way over complicating this.
You are trying to show if a field is checked or not, correct?
You may have to adjust a bit
Group on the permit ID to get keep each permit togther.
group on the Category field.
THis will keep all of the categorie fields for that ticket together
drag and drop the checked field onto the detail section
drag and drop the item field onto the detail section just to the right of the checked field
right click on the checked field
select format field
select common tab
select display string formual field
use
if currentfieldvalue then chr(252) else chr(168)
select Font tab
under font select WingDing
Preview