Zoning, building permits and septic rules in Village of Worth, Illinois

Village of Worth’s own rules

• Local zoningPresent (with conditions)

  Land inside Worth village limits: the village adopts and administers its own zoning ordinance, Title 5 Zoning Regulations of the Village Code of Worth, Illinois.

  • Source is the village code hosted by American Legal Publishing; code page states it is current through Ord. 2026-18 (June 16, 2026).
  • Identity: the code page names Worth, Illinois and the village of worth but does not itself name the county; county not independently confirmed from an opened page.

  “caveat in the compilation of this zoning title, the codifiers were authorized by the village of worth to use the zoning booklet as adopted and published december 15, 1964”

• Zoning districtsPublished (with conditions)

  Land inside Worth village limits: the village zoning title lists residence, business, manufacturing and planned unit development districts.

  • The table of contents names R1, R2, R3 and T1 residence districts, B1 and B2 business districts, M1 and M2 manufacturing districts, and planned unit developments. District boundaries are in chapter 4 zoning districts; map not opened.
  • Status is conditional because district uses and limits are set by each district chapter, which was not opened.

  “residence districts 5 r1 single-family residence district 5a r2 single-family residence district 5b r3 general residence district 5c t1 single-family attached residence district 5d business districts 6 b1 restricted retail business district 6a b2 general business district 6b manufacturing districts 7 m1 limited manufacturing district 7a m2 general manufacturing district 7b planned unit developments 8”

• Off-grid sanitationProhibited

  Land inside Worth village limits: private sewage disposal systems (septic tanks, privies, cesspools) are prohibited by village code.

  • Section 7-2-3(c) says it is unlawful to construct or maintain any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool or other facility for sewage disposal, except as hereinafter provided; the exceptions were not identified in the opened text.
  • Section 7-2-4 'Private sewage disposal' states the prohibition.
  • Land outside the village limits is not covered by this claim.

  “7-2-4: private sewage disposal: private sewerage disposal systems are prohibited in the village”

• Mandatory utility hookupSewer (with conditions)

  Owners of houses and buildings in Worth village that abut a street or right of way with a public sanitary sewer; sewer connection duty applies within the distance stated.

  • Duty applies only if the public sewer is within 300 feet of the property line.
  • Owner must connect within 90 days after official notice.
  • Connection requires a written village permit under section 7-2-5(a)(1), quoted in the sewer chapter.
  • Water connection requirement was not located in the opened pages; value covers sewer only.

  distance from public sanitary sewer to property line: <= 300 feet (duty applies only when the sewer is within this distance)

  “and to connect such facilities directly with the proper public sewer in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance, within ninety (90) days after date of official notice to do so, provided that said public sewer is within three hundred feet (300') (91.4 meters) of the property line.”

• Subdividing landRegulated (with conditions)

  Land inside Worth village limits: the village code contains a Title 6 subdivision regulations title.

  • Existence of Title 6 confirmed from the code table of contents only; its plat, lot-split and approval requirements were not opened.

  “title 5 zoning regulations title 6 subdivision regulations title 7 public ways and property”

Still unanswered

We looked and could not find an official answer yet. Silence is not permission; ask Village of Worth or Cook County directly.

• Building permit — New construction inside Worth village limits.
• Owner-builder exemption — Owner-builders constructing a home inside Worth village limits.
• Building code adopted — Land inside Worth village limits: which building code edition the village adopts.
• Inspections — New construction inside Worth village limits.
• Certificate of occupancy — New dwellings inside Worth village limits.

Each answer was extracted from an official source and independently re-checked against that source by a second reviewer. That is an evidence check, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the authority before you buy or build.