New state building codes took effect across Illinois starting January 1, and they bring important changes for communities like Aledo. The new law requires all municipalities to follow minimum construction standards, even in places that previously didn’t have building codes.
For cities like Aledo, which has had building codes since 2006, the law requires those existing codes to meet or exceed the state’s minimum standards. If a city’s codes don’t meet the minimum, they’ll need to follow the stricter state requirements.
Public Works Director Justin Blaser, who is certified in residential and commercial building inspections, ensures Aledo stays up to date says Mayor Chris Hagloch.
“And another thing that I get a lot of questions, of course, out on the street, and people say, well, if you have building codes in place, then how, you know, who’s there to rule for those? And do you have to have education, I guess, you know, do you have to have certificates? So, and we do have that. Justin Blaser, our public works director is certified. And that was part of when we brought him on here nine or 10 years ago, was that he needed to be up to speed in each of those.
So he has a residential building inspector certificate. He has a commercial building inspector certificate. He has a certified building inspector certificate combo, which does residential and commercial.
The city is currently working to adopt the 2021 building codes, aligning with the state’s rule that codes be no more than nine years old.
We, the City of Aledo is a member of the International Building Code Council.
And we’ve been a member of that since 2006. And we are also a member of the ILOA chapter of the International Building Code Council. So and we meet or Justin meets monthly with other municipalities and they discuss code adoptions, issues with the different jurisdictions, and answers questions and holds trainings.
So it’s very important that we continually try to keep up on this. ”
Mayor Chris Hagloch recommends anyone planning a construction or renovation project check in with City Hall before starting. This ensures compliance with local and state requirements and avoids potential confusion.
For more details or assistance, contact City Hall, where staff, including Justin Blaser, are available to help clarify building code requirements.
Good morning, welcome to Focus. Terry James with Mayor Chris Hagloch as it’s time for Mayor on the Air and I just, you know, I never came up with a better name. Is there one? No, there isn’t one.
There isn’t one, Mayor. I couldn’t think of it. Oh, man.
So I’m happy that we missed Snowmageddon the other day. Were you happy about that? Absolutely, yes. I wished I lived a little further south except for this time when they got all the snow downs out.
So, I mean, you just don’t know anymore. Well, I just thought, you know, it’s because so everybody could admire the new Central Park parking lot. It’s probably why we missed the storm.
There you go. Tell us about snow routes real quick, Mayor, because if it had snowed, we’d be in a different situation. Well, absolutely, yeah.
The snow routes, as we all know, two inches or more. So if you have a snow route that has, we accumulate two inches or more of snow and you live in that area or you travel that area, make sure that we move vehicles off of those snow routes so we can get those routes plowed. And that’s so you don’t see a giant pile of snow covering a car and you forget there’s even a car there.
We just don’t want that to happen. There you go. That’s true.
Mayor, as the weather is, you know, it’s somewhat mild enough for some people to go out there on those side-by-sides, but March is coming up and then it gets really busy on the trails for side-by-sides, but people aren’t getting the stickers like they need to. That is very important. You know, some people wait until spring because maybe they’ve taken their golf cart and put it away for the winter, but there’s other folks that have those all-terrain side-by-sides that are enclosed that they use year-round.
And you just need to remember it is after January 1 and we do require stickers annually. So get into City Hall, get your sticker. It’s $50 and it lasts the entire year.
You can travel around all the routes and down. You can’t drive down the highway, state highway as we all know, but you can cross the highway at all those intersections. And we’ve got a route now to get to Walmart.
So, you know, enjoy your time with those. Absolutely. Another thing, as we were talking about, new laws come down every year.
Sometimes those laws make a lot of sense and sometimes they don’t, but we have to follow them, Mayor. So there’s a code requirement. What did the state say when it comes to building codes in the state? So, you know, in the past, building codes, if you had adopted them, then you follow them.
But some really small communities never had codes, never really followed codes. I’m not sure how they established their inspections, but the state decided to sign an act that now, starting January 1, all communities have to follow the Building Codes Act. But that act does not require municipalities or counties that currently have building codes to adopt building codes, but it does require a minimum construction standard in those communities.
So that’s very important. Whose law trumps whose though? So is it the state’s building code that trumps the city of Aledo building code or otherwise? So like the city, we’ve already got building codes. They were established in 2006.
The council back then decided the city needs building codes. So they established those in 2006, and that’s what we’ve followed ever since. Well, the new code says if you have codes in place, which we do, you have to follow those standards, the minimum.
If you don’t, you have to follow the state’s minimum, which is probably basically the same codes in a way.
So if whomever has the highest minimum standard, that’s the code you follow. That sounds right. So you take a look at both codes and whichever one has the highest minimum standard.
Okay. Yep. And the other thing is they want you to be within nine years of the current code, and codes come out every three years.
So they came out in 2021 was the last one, and they were finishing one up for 2024, which I don’t know if that’s out yet. But the city of Aledo is in process of adopting 2021’s codes, and the state says you have to be within nine years of the current code. So you are within nine years of the current code.
Okay. So we’re getting those updated. So that has to be done, and I think we have 60 or 90 days to get that taken care of.
Well, if anybody’s confused, would you say then the best thing to do is before you start a project, visit City Hall and just go over what would be the requirements? Absolutely. Absolutely. And just to briefly say a couple things about it, and this is kind of the cut down version, but it says that any municipal code or county building code must regulate the structural design of new buildings other than residential buildings in a manner that is at least as stringent as the baseline statewide building code standard.
It also says that they must regulate the structural design or rehabilitation work in existing buildings other than residential buildings, and you must regulate the structural design of residential buildings in a manner that is at least as stringent as the baseline. So it’s a little confusing. We hope to talk a little bit more about that.
And another thing that I get a lot of questions, of course, out on the street, and people say, well, if you have building codes in place, then how, you know, who’s there to rule for those? And do you have to have education, I guess, you know, do you have to have certificates? So, and we do have that. Justin Blaser, our public works director is certified. And that was part of when we brought him on here nine or 10 years ago, was that he needed to be up to speed in each of those.
So he has a residential building inspector certificate. He has a commercial building inspector certificate. He has a certified building inspector certificate combo, which does residential and commercial.
He has a residential electrical inspector certificate and a residential mechanical inspector. And he has to continually bring those up to speed. So that continuing education is something that he always does.
So I know there’s a lot to digest here. So if you do have questions or concerns, please notify City Hall and Joy there will be happy to help you work through this. And Justin, of course, is there also.
You know what is way less confusing than new laws? Five questions. Mayor, here we go.
Yay, good stuff. I decided to be easy on you today. But let’s see how much you know.