4-36-030 License classifications.

“Act related to general contracting” means: (1) any activity requiring a license under this chapter; or (2) any conduct regulated by this chapter; or (3) any activity requiring a building permit issued under Chapter 13-32 of this Code or a sign permit under Chapter 13-20 of this Code; or (4) any duty or other requirement imposed by this chapter; or (5) any inspection of a building or premises or performance of other legal or work-related duty by a city inspector, city personnel or other government official in connection with: (i) the issuance of a general contractor license under this chapter, or (ii) the issuance of a building permit under Chapter 13-32 of this Code, or (iii) for the purpose of enforcing the requirements of the building code, zoning code or any other law regulating building construction or the health or safety of construction site workers, of the current or eventual users or occupants of a building or premises or of the general public.

“Building code” has the meaning ascribed to the term in Section 1-4-090.

“City” means the City of Chicago.

“City personnel” means any person employed by the City of Chicago.

“City inspector” means any person authorized by the City of Chicago to conduct an inspection.

“Department” means the department of buildings.

“Commissioner” means the commissioner of buildings.

“Controlling person” means any person who: (1) is an officer, director, partner, general partner, limited partner, manager, managing member or member of any entity seeking or holding a license under this chapter; or (2) owns, directly or indirectly through one or more intermediate ownership entities, 25 percent or more of the interest in the licensee or applicant, as applicable.

“General contractor” means any person who, as an investment or for compensation or with the intent to sell or to lease, (i) arranges or submits a bid or offers to undertake or purports to have the capacity to undertake or undertakes, through himself or through others, to erect, construct, alter, repair, move, install, replace, convert, remodel, rehabilitate, modernize, improve or make additions to any building as defined in Section 13-4-010 or to any appurtenance thereto attached to real estate and located on the same lot as the building, including, but not limited to, driveways, swimming pools, porches, decks, garages, fences, fallout shelters and other accessory objects or uses; and (ii) retains for himself control over the means, method and manner of accomplishing the desired result; and (iii) whose business operations, in whole or in part, require the hiring or supervision of one or more persons from any building trade or craft, including, but not limited to, plumbing, masonry, electrical, heating, air-conditioning or carpentry. The term includes nonresident general contractors who do business within the city and developers of conversion condominiums as defined in the Condominium Property Act, as amended.

“Knowingly”, with respect to a material fact, means (i) having actual knowledge of the material fact; or (ii) being aware of facts or information that would cause a reasonable person to have actual knowledge of the material fact; or (iii) acting in deliberate ignorance or reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the material fact.

“Licensee” means any person licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter.

“Nonresident general contractor” means any general contractor who is not domiciled in the city and has not maintained a permanent place of business or residence in the city for at least six months.

“Zoning code” has the meaning ascribed to the term in Section 1-4-150.

(Added Coun. J. 10-1-03, p. 9163, § 2.1; Amend Coun. J. 7-30-08, p. 34713, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 3-18-09, p. 56013, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 55278, Art. IV, § 2)

4-36-020 License – Required.

(A) No person shall own, operate, conduct, manage, engage in, maintain or carry on the business of general contractor without first having obtained a general contractor license. The general contractor license shall be in addition to any other license required by law, including, but not limited to, the excavators license issued pursuant to Chapter 4-196 of this Code, if applicable.

(B) The following persons are not general contractors within the meaning of this section:

(1) Any subcontractor, employee or agent working for or under the supervision of a general contractor licensed or required to be licensed under this chapter and acting within the scope of his contract, employment or agency;

(2) Any person who merely furnishes materials or supplies for use at a construction site without fabricating them into, or consuming them in the performance of, the work of a general contractor;

(3) Any person licensed by the City of Chicago as a mason contractor, plumbing contractor or electrical contractor and acting within the scope of his license;

(4) Any licensed architect or engineer acting within the scope of his license;

(5) Any person who does general contracting work on property that constitutes his primary residence, if the primary residence is a single-family dwelling or a multiple-family dwelling that does not exceed three stories in height and contains six or fewer dwelling units as defined in Section 13-4-010 of this Code. This exception is limited to one such property during a calendar year;

(6) Any person who hires a general contractor licensed under this chapter to do general contracting work on the person's property;

(7) Any property owner, or employee or agent thereof, who does minor nonstructural repairs on the owner's property; and

(8) A governmental entity for work upon premises owned by the governmental entity and performed by employees of the governmental entity.

(Added Coun. J. 10-1-03, p. 9163, § 2.1; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 21; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 79)

4-36-030 License classifications.

General contractor licenses shall be divided into the classifications which follow. The holders of such licenses shall be entitled to engage in the business of general contractor within the city subject to the following limitations:

Class A license: The holder of a Class A license is subject to no limitation as to the value of any single contract project.

Class B license: The holder of a Class B license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of $10,000,000.00.

Class C license: The holder of a Class C license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of $5,000,000.00.

Class D license: The holder of a Class D license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of $2,000,000.00.

Class E license: The holder of a Class E license is not entitled to engage in the construction of any single contract project of a value in excess of $500,000.00.

(Added Coun. J. 10-1-03, p. 9163, § 2.1; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-05, p. 55252, § 1)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 9-14-05, p. 55252, § 4, provides: “This ordinance shall be in force and effect upon its passage and approval. Provided, however, that with respect to any affected insurance policy in effect as the time of passage of this ordinance, the requirements imposed by Code Sections 4-36-030 and 4-36-090, as amended by this ordinance, must be complied with in conjunction with the renewal of any such insurance policy, or by January 1, 2007, whichever comes first.”

4-36-040 License – Posting – Nontransferability.

Each license issued pursuant to this chapter shall be posted in a conspicuous place near the entrance of the licensee's chief place of business. A photocopy of the license shall be posted in a conspicuous place at each construction site maintained by the licensee. No transfer of ownership shall be allowed on any license issued under this chapter.

(Added Coun. J. 10-1-03, p. 9163, § 2.1; Amend Coun. J. 7-30-08, p. 34713, § 4)

4-36-050 License – Application.

An application for a license under this chapter shall be made in writing to the commissioner on a form provided by the department of buildings, and shall be accompanied by the following:

(A) If the applicant is an individual:

(1) The applicant's full name, residence address, business address, business e-mail address and business telephone number;

(2) Proof that the applicant is at least 18 years of age;

(B) If the applicant is a corporation:

(1) The corporate name, address, e-mail address and telephone number of the applicant's principal office or place of business;

(2) The date and state of incorporation;

(3) The full name, title, residence address, e-mail address and residence telephone number of all controlling persons;

(4) Proof that all corporate officers and controlling persons are at least 18 years of age;

(5) Proof that the corporation is in good standing under the laws of the State of Illinois;

(1) The name, address, e-mail address and telephone number of the applicant's principal office or place of business;

(2) The full name, title, residence address, e-mail address and residence telephone number of all partners, if a general partnership; of all general and limited partners, if a limited partnership; of all managers, managing members and members, if a limited liability company; and of all controlling persons;

(3) Proof that all partners, managers, managing members, members and controlling persons are at least 18 years of age;

(D) The class of license for which application is being made;

(E) The license fee;

(F) A description of the work and services the applicant will provide;

(G) A statement verified by affidavit as to whether the applicant and each controlling person is financially solvent;

(H) The name and address of the principal location from which the applicant has engaged in the business of general contracting at any time within the last five years;

(I) If the applicant is not a sole proprietor, proof that the applicant is authorized to do business in the State of Illinois;

(J) Proof of insurance as required by Section 4-36-090;

(K) The date of birth, and social security number or other acceptable identifier, of each natural person named in the license application;

(L) A statement as to whether the applicant or any controlling person has ever been convicted, in custody, under parole or under any other non-custodial supervision resulting from a conviction in a court of any jurisdiction for the commission of a felony or criminal offense of whatever degree involving bribery, and if so, the details surrounding each such conviction;

(M) A statement as to whether the applicant or any controlling person is currently under indictment or has been charged under any State or Federal law with the crime of bribery; and

(N) Any other information that the commissioner may require.

It is a condition of the license that all information in the application be kept current. Any change in required information shall be reported to the department of buildings within 14 business days after such change has occurred.

For purposes of this section, a post office box shall not suffice as an address.

(Added Coun. J. 10-1-03, p. 9163, § 2.1; Amend Coun. J. 9-14-05, p. 55252, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 7-30-08, p. 34713, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 80)

4-36-060 License issuance and renewal prohibited when.

No general contractor license shall be issued to the following persons:

(A) Any person whose license under this chapter has been revoked for cause at any time within the last four years;

(B) Any person whose permit privileges have been suspended pursuant to Section 4-36-130 until such time that the suspension is lifted by the department of buildings;

(D) Any person who has been convicted, in custody, under parole or under any other non-custodial supervision resulting from a conviction in a court of any jurisdiction for the commission of a felony or criminal offense of whatever degree involving bribery, unless, upon request of such person, the commissioner determines that such person has been substantially rehabilitated to warrant the public trust. The burden of proof of substantial rehabilitation shall be on the person seeking such rehabilitation; and

(E) Any person who is currently under indictment or has been charged under any State or Federal law with the crime of bribery.

The above prohibitions and requirements shall apply to the licensee and to all controlling persons.

Eligibility for issuance of a license under this chapter shall be a continuing requirement for maintaining a license under this chapter. Failure to maintain such eligibility may result in license suspension or revocation in accordance with the requirements of Section of this Code.

(Added Coun. J. 10-1-03, p. 9163, § 2.1; Amend Coun. J. 7-30-08, p. 34713, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 81)

Notes

The hyper-linked material is not part of the Chicago Building Code infobase and therefore is not included herein. The material is included in other provisions of the Chicago Municipal Code. The complete Chicago Municipal Code is available for purchase from American Legal Publishing in both print and Folio® versions. Please click here for the appropriate American Legal order form in printable Adobe® PDF format. For additional information, you may visit American Legal's website by clicking here.

4-36-070 License – Fee – Termination.

The license fee set forth in Section of this Code shall be payable annually. The general contractor license shall expire on the date indicated on the face of the license.

(Added Coun. J. 10-1-03, p. 9163, § 2.1; Amend Coun. J. 6-6-12, p. 28356, § 5)

Notes

Disclaimer: This Code of Ordinances and/or any other documents that appear on this site may not reflect the most current legislation adopted by the Municipality. American Legal Publishing provides these documents for informational purposes only. These documents should not be relied upon as the definitive authority for local legislation. Additionally, the formatting and pagination of the posted documents varies from the formatting and pagination of the official copy. The official printed copy of a Code of Ordinances should be consulted prior to any action being taken. For further information regarding the official version of any of this Code of Ordinances or other documents posted on this site, please contact the Municipality directly or contact American Legal Publishing toll-free at 800-445-5588.

Hosted by: American Legal Publishing

Back to Code Library

Previous Doc

Next Doc