Two Regimes, and a County Layer on Top of One of Them
Inside Chicago, the Department of Buildings permits everything and a city-licensed contractor with a wrecking bond must pull any demolition permit. Preservation review under the 1996 historic resources survey applies citywide.
Outside the city, in suburban Cook County, two authorities are involved rather than one: the municipality issues building permits under its own ordinances, and the Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability handles demolition permitting with its own debris diversion requirements. Municipal transfer taxes differ from village to village, and several suburbs run preservation ordinances stricter than the city's.
The Regimes Compared
| Regime | Building permits | Demolition permits | Recording |
|---|---|---|---|
| City of Chicago | Department of Buildings | Same, city-licensed contractor with wrecking bond | Cook County Clerk |
| Suburban Cook | That municipality | Cook County Environment and Sustainability | Cook County Clerk |
| DuPage County | That municipality | That county's process | DuPage County Recorder |
Areas We Cover
- ChicagoDepartment of Buildings, the 90-day preservation hold, three layers of transfer tax
- EvanstonIts own building department, active preservation review and a municipal transfer tax
- Oak ParkHistoric districts covering much of the village, own permitting
- BerwynDense brick bungalow stock, own department, tight lots
- CiceroOwn authority, mixed industrial and dense residential
- SkokieLarge village with its own department and post-war stock
- Oak LawnSouthwest suburb, own permit counter, post-war ranch housing
- NapervilleDuPage and Will counties, separate recording, newer stock
If Your Area Is Not Listed
We buy across Chicago and the surrounding counties, including in municipalities without a page here. These are the areas where we hold enough verified local detail to publish something worth reading. A page that only swapped the village name into the same sentences would waste your time.
Send the address and we will identify the authority and price the building regardless of whether a page exists for it. The statutory layer is identical everywhere in the state and is set out once on our page covering Illinois disclosure and claim requirements.