Building Permits & Fees

Some work requires plan submittal and plan review prior to a permit being issued. That work generally includes new construction, additions, major alterations, and alterations where egress, structure, or major building systems are altered. If you have questions on what requires plan review, please contact the Building Department at (815) 748-2070.

The general process is plans are submitted for review along with a permit application and plan review fee. The plans are then logged in and routed to the appropriate parties for review. Review times depend on the size of the project and current workload, but our goal is to get initial comments in two weeks. If there are comments on the plans, they will be sent to the Design Professional who submitted the plans for corrections. Once corrections are received, and provided they address all the comments fully, the plans are approved, the application is signed and the permit fee will be calculated. The owner is notified of the fee and once paid, the permit is issued and work may commence.