Tazewell County, IL Building Safety: Carbon Monoxide Detectors (2026)
Key Facts
- CO alarm required
- within 15 ft of every sleeping room
- Multi-unit buildings
- same 15-ft standard applies
- Power source allowed
- battery, plug-in, or hardwired
- Exemption
- no fossil-fuel combustion, no garage link
- Determination authority
- Local Building Commissioner
- Penalty
- up to $1,000 per day
Summary
Section 96.10 requires a working carbon monoxide alarm within 15 feet of every sleeping room in county dwellings, and multi-unit buildings need the same 15-foot standard applied to every bedroom in the structure. Units with no fossil-fuel combustion or garage connection are exempt.
(A) Every dwelling unit shall be equipped with at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm in an operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes. The carbon monoxide alarm may be combined with smoke detecting devices provided that the combined unit complies with the respective provisions of the administrative code, reference standards, and State Fire Marshall's departmental rules relating to both smoke detecting devices and carbon monoxide alarms and provided that the combined unit emits an alarm in a manner that clearly differentiates the hazard. (B) Every structure that contains more than one dwelling unit shall contain at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm in operating condition within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-7: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. LU-21-12, passed 9-29-2021; and Res. LU-26-09, passed 7-29-2026).
Full Breakdown
10 of the Human Habitation chapter. Division (A) mandates at least one approved carbon monoxide alarm, in operating condition, within 15 feet of every room used for sleeping purposes; the alarm may be combined with a smoke detector if the combined unit meets both sets of State Fire Marshal standards and clearly differentiates which hazard triggered it. Division (B) extends the same 15-foot-from-every-bedroom standard to any structure containing more than one dwelling unit. Under division (C), the property owner must supply and install all required alarms, while the tenant tests and maintains the alarm in their own unit, replaces its batteries, and must notify the owner in writing of deficiencies the tenant cannot fix; the owner must still ensure batteries are operational when a tenant takes possession.
Division (D) allows the alarms to be battery-powered, plug-in with battery backup, or hardwired into the AC line with battery backup. Division (E) exempts two categories of units from the alarm requirement altogether: a unit in a building that does not rely on combustion of fossil fuel for heat, ventilation, or hot water, is not connected to a garage, and is not close enough to any ventilated carbon monoxide source to receive it, as determined by the Local Building Commissioner; and a unit that simply is not close enough to any carbon monoxide source to be at risk, again as determined by the Local Building Commissioner.
Violations & Fines
A dwelling that lacks the carbon monoxide alarm required by § 96.10 is in violation of Chapter 96, a petty offense under § 96.99 punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 for each day the violation continues, enforced by the county's Director of Public Health.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are carbon monoxide alarms mandatory in Tazewell County rentals?
Can a combined smoke and CO alarm satisfy both Tazewell County requirements?
Which units are exempt from the carbon monoxide alarm requirement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Tazewell County
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