The Building and Zoning Offices are located on the lower level of Wadsworth Village Hall, 14155 West Wadsworth Road.
Issuance of building, plumbing and electrical permits are coordinated through this office.
For matters relating to Annexations, Developments, Subdivisions, and Planned Unit Developments (PUD), please contact Wadsworth Village Hall at 847.336.7771.
Please click HERE to be directed to our Village Code to familiarize yourself with Village Rules and Regulations as they pertain to Building and Zoning matters.
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Know Your Rights When Working With Contractors
When engaging an individual or a business contractor to work on, in, or around your home, you must be diligent in becoming an informed consumer. Please make sure that you are aware of all of your rights.
Do not assume that the contractor is adequately insured, that a job injury will not be your responsibility, or that the contractor is properly licensed. Investigate your prospective contractor and get everything in writing!
You must actively protect yourself by ascertaining that the contractor currently maintains general liability insurance for any property damages that may occur, and that the contractor currently provides workers' compensation insurance for all who are working on the home project. Please be sure to get copies of those insurance coverage documents and also verify that those documents are current.
Even if you maintain your own homeowners' insurance, that type of policy is often limited and could prove to be insufficient if there are serious injuries, permanent disabilities, or even death to a contractor or to one of the contractor's workers. Furthermore, if a contractor damages your home, your homeowners' insurance policy may help pay for some of the repairs, but it may not cover scenarios involving a contractor's poor workmanship.
Unfortunately, some homeowners may try to save money by hiring an unlicensed contractor. However, hiring such an unlicensed contractor may be illegal. For example, in the Village of Wadsworth, a roofing, plumbing or well drilling contractor must be licensed by the State of Illinois.
Follow these tips to help protect yourself from being defrauded:
* Seek bids from three contractors to ensure that you are paying a fair price and have found a contractor that you can work with.
* Before signing a contract over $1,000, the contractor must provide you with a pamphlet from the Illinois Attorney General entitled "Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights", which you should read.
* Look up contractor reviews across various websites, such as the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and Google, looking for any past complaints.
* Ensure that the contract has a total cost noted, a complete description of the work to be performed, and estimated start and completion dates. The contract should also state that any charges outside of those in the contract must be authorized by you in advance.
* Be sure that the contractor agrees that Village building permits will be pulled, and that work will be done in accordance with the Village's Code. Either the contractor or the homeowner can submit the permit application, but negotiate who will submit and pay for the requisite building permit. Payment for the project should be contingent upon an approved building inspection. For the Village of Wadsworth, the Village of Beach Park performs such inspections.
* Never sign a contract with blank spaces or with sections that you do not understand.
* As stated above, confirm that the contractor is fully and properly insured, and ask for a certificate of insurance indicating you as the additional insured.
* Maintain all of the paperwork related to your project, and take photographs of the work site before, during and after the construction work.
* Do not sign a certificate of completion or make final payment until the work is done to your satisfaction. And, when you do pay, pay by credit card or check, and always get a receipt. Furthermore, be wary of paying for materials in advance. And keep any down payments as low as possible.
* Finally, demand lien waivers from all of your contractors, subcontractors and suppliers to confirm that payment is received and that any future lien rights to your property are waived.
For more information on your consumer rights, or if you think that you were defrauded by a contractor, bring your concerns to the Illinois Attorney General by calling 1-800-386-5438 or by visiting www.IllinoisAttorneyGeneral.gov/consumers.
As a homeowner, you must be careful and responsible before you permit a contractor to work on one of your most precious possessions.
