Illinois: no state license covers chimney work. Here's what that means.

Illinois is the mirror image of Maryland (comparison). Where MD/VA license hard but let sellers disclose little, Illinois licenses nothing statewide for chimney work — only roofers and plumbers are state-licensed, and a chimney is neither — yet its seller-disclosure form asks about the chimney by name, twice. Chicago runs its own General Contractor and Mason Contractor licenses and its own building code; step outside city limits and the credential, and sometimes the code itself, disappears. The inversion against Ohio: both lack statewide chimney licensing, and both forms name the chimney — but Illinois's CO law covers every existing home. The leverage lives in the Home Repair Act's paperwork and the Consumer Fraud Act — not in a license you can look up.

No state license covers chimney work in Illinois. IDFPR licenses only specific trades — roofing (Illinois Roofing Industry Licensing Act, 225 ILCS 335), plumbing, asbestos — and there is no state general-contractor or home-improvement license. The Roofing Act defines roofing work around roofs, roofing and waterproofing "over an occupiable space"; it does not mention chimneys, so chimney masonry, relining, and sweeping fall outside state licensure (our reading; chimney flashing at the roof line is a gray zone — label it). What the state does impose is consumer paperwork, not a credential: the Home Repair and Remodeling Act (815 ILCS 513) requires a written contract or work order for home repair or remodeling work over $1,000 (513/15), and the contractor must provide the "Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights" pamphlet (513/20) — with a signed acknowledgment for contracts over $1,000. Licensing is LOCAL: Chicago requires a General Contractor License (Dept. of Buildings) for work requiring a building permit — there is no minimum project value; the classes cap the value a licensee may take on (Class E, the lowest, is limited to $500,000 per site under Municipal Code 4-36-030, amended May 20, 2026). Chicago also requires a separately licensed Mason Contractor (written mason exam, one-year license) for most masonry work — masonry repairs that do not require a building permit are exempt — which makes Chicago the one Illinois jurisdiction with a masonry-specific credential relevant to chimney rebuilds. Many suburbs run their own registration. "Licensed and bonded" in Illinois usually means a Chicago/suburban credential, valid only in that jurisdiction.

As wide as Ohio's. Statewide, there is nothing to verify for chimney work beyond a written contract — no exam, no registry. Even Chicago's mason exam tests masonry, not flue diagnosis. Individual certs (NCSG CCP/CCR; CSIA CCS, C-DET) and an independent audit fill a real vacuum.

Unlike the "strong-license/weak-disclosure" states, Illinois has a genuinely useful mandatory disclosure. The Residential Real Property Disclosure Act (765 ILCS 77) requires the seller of 1–4 unit residential property to complete the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report (765 ILCS 77/35) — a 24-item known-defect form that includes item 6: "I am aware of leaks or material defects in the roof, ceilings, or chimney" and item 13: "I am aware of material defects in the fireplace or woodburning stove." Actual-knowledge standard; flood-related questions were added in a recent amendment. New/unoccupied construction and foreclosures are excluded. No inspection is mandated at transfer; NFPA 211 Level 2 stays a NATIONAL STANDARD. This is a real chimney disclosure — stronger on this axis than MA/VA/MD (comparison).

The Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 505) gives both a private right of action (505/10a) and AG enforcement: actual damages, attorney's fees, and punitive damages available in egregious cases under Illinois case law (no automatic treble). Home Repair and Remodeling Act violations feed into it as unlawful practices. Home-solicitation sales of $25 or more made by a seller physically present at the consumer's residence carry a right to cancel until 3 full business days after signing under 815 ILCS 505/2B — the exact mechanic of chimney scare-sales. The Illinois AG takes complaints through its Consumer Fraud Bureau. The AG's own "Home Repair and Construction: Know Your Rights" pamphlet (dated 02.19) restates both levers: "For home repair contracts over $1,000, you have the right to a written contract or work order…" and "You have three business days from the time you sign your contract to cancel any contract if the sale is made at your home and is over $25" (illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Page-Attachments/Home%20Repair_KnowYourRights.pdf, checked Sep 25, 2026 — GOV).

The Illinois AG's Consumer Fraud Bureau pursues home-repair contractors, and the door-knock "we noticed your chimney" pitch is a textbook 505/2B home-solicitation + Home Repair Act scenario. A documented home-repair (not chimney) example: on May 3, 2022 the AG filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against G&M Exteriors Pros Inc., Illinois Adjustors Corp. and their owners over roofing repair practices, under the Home Repair and Remodeling Act and the Consumer Fraud Act (AG press release PDF, https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/dA/ec416f339c/202205-03%20FILES%20LAWSUIT%20OVER%20HOME%20REPAIR%20SCAMS%20DEFRAUDING%20DOZENS.pdf, checked Sep 25, 2026 — GOV; an allegation in a filed complaint, not a finding — say so if used). Specific IL chimney-sweep enforcement actions: NONE FOUND — use patterns, not names.

Illinois is a code patchwork. There is no state-enforced building code for private residential construction — the Capital Development Board states the State does not perform plan review, permits, or inspections for privately funded construction. Each municipality/county adopts its own code (or none). Chicago enforces its own Chicago Building Code. The Illinois Residential Building Code Act (815 ILCS 670) is not a statewide code in the usual sense: per the CDB it "only applies to new residential construction" — in jurisdictions without a code, the construction contract must incorporate an agreed residential code (IRC current or preceding edition, or a municipal/county code within 100 miles), with default provisions if the parties don't agree; PA 103-0510 (2023) added CDB code-reporting duties and made locally adopted codes subject to the Act from Jan 1, 2025. For jurisdictions that do have a code, CDB states that "Starting 1/1/25 local codes must regulate the structural design in a manner that is at least as stringent as the IRC" (cdb.illinois.gov/business/codes/buildingcodesregulations.html, checked Sep 25, 2026). It does not reach repairs to existing homes — i.e., chimney work: CDB's FAQ says the Act "only applies to new residential construction. Residential repairs may be regulated by local Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ)." Where a code and building department exist, chimney relines, rebuilds, and solid-fuel appliance installs are generally permit work; in areas without a code there may be no permit process at all. This state needs the local-variance disclaimer as much as Ohio.

No statewide burn-ban or stove-emission regime. Not a material content section for IL.

The Carbon Monoxide Alarm Detector Act (430 ILCS 135) requires every dwelling unit to have at least one approved CO alarm within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping — a unit is exempt only if it does not rely on fossil-fuel combustion for heat, ventilation, or hot water, is not connected in any way to a garage, and is not close enough to a ventilated source of carbon monoxide to receive it, or if the local building commissioner determines it is not close enough to any carbon monoxide source to be at risk (430 ILCS 135/20); willful failure to install or maintain is a Class B misdemeanor. The Office of the State Fire Marshal's own page states the same rule — "homeowners, landlords, and building owners are required to install carbon monoxide (CO) detectors within 15 feet of rooms used for sleeping," applying to occupancies that use fossil fuel to cook, heat or produce hot water or that connect to an enclosed garage, effective January 1, 2007 (sfm.illinois.gov/about/divisions/fire-prevention-and-building-safety/carbon-monoxide-detectors.html, checked Sep 25, 2026 — GOV). Broad statewide coverage (comparable to NY's Amanda's Law — comparison), enforced as a standing requirement — no statewide mandatory pre-sale CO certificate (Chicago may impose its own). A permitted chimney job is still the natural moment to verify alarms.