Public Health Rules in Cook County, IL (2026)

3 county-level rules, plus city-specific rules for 8 cities in Cook County, Illinois.

Verified from official government sources

Note: These county rules apply to unincorporated areas of Cook County. If you live within an incorporated city, that city's own rules apply: see the city list below.

Rodent Control

Cook County's Residential Tenant and Landlord Ordinance makes rodent extermination and rodent-proofed exterior walls part of the legal habitability standard landlords must maintain, enforceable countywide except in opted-out municipalities with their own landlord-tenant codes.

Cook County Rental Habitability Rodent Rules

Some Restrictions

Cook County Code § 42-105(c)(3)

Habitability standards shall include, but are not limited to, any of the following circumstances: ... j.Foundation, exterior walls, and exterior roof with structural integrity, in sound condition, maintained in good repair, and substantially watertight and protected against rodents; ... r.Extermination of insects, rodents and other pests; ...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Bed-Bug Rules

County landlords must eliminate bed bug infestations using a licensed pest control professional and keep three years of treatment records.

Cook County Bed Bug Remediation Rules

Some Restrictions

Cook County Code § 42-110(d)

The landlord has an obligation to maintain the premises free from bed bugs. ... In any rental dwelling unit in which an infestation of bed bugs is found or reasonably suspected, it is the responsibility of the landlord to: a. Provide pest control services by a pest management professional until such time that no evidence of bed bugs can be found and verified; b. Maintain a written record of the...

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗

Syringe Disposal

In unincorporated Cook County, tossing used needles, syringes, or lancets loose is a declared public nuisance. CCDPH requires sharps go into a hard plastic or metal container with a secured screw-on lid first.

Cook County Sharps Disposal Container Rule

Some Restrictions

Cook County Code § 38-54(14)

To dispose of health care items such as needles, syringes, lancets, and other sharp objects without first placing these objects in a hard plastic container or a metal container that are provided with a screw on lid or other tightly secured lid.

Full ordinance details →Official source ↗