Kankakee County, IL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Sec. 121-99(b)(12) lists a child care center within an occupied residence, not more than five children, among the A1 district's permitted uses, meaning a small home daycare needs no special approval beyond ordinary zoning compliance. Once the number of children served rises above that threshold, Sec. 121-99(c)(6) reclassifies the operation: child care centers not to exceed 12 children, ages six months to seven years, and a child care center within an occupied residence serving not less than six and not more than twelve children, are listed as special uses, which require review by the zoning board of appeals and approval by the county board before the business can operate, the same process used for other A1 special uses like animal farms and composting facilities.

The R1 Single-Family Residence district under Sec. 121-146 and the R2 High Density Residence district under Sec. 121-147 repeat the identical five-child permitted-use threshold and the six-to-twelve-child special use tier, so the limits are consistent whether the home sits in the county's agricultural or residential zoning districts. Operators planning to exceed twelve children in a residential setting fall outside the home-based child care framework altogether and would need to pursue a freestanding child care center use, which carries its own acreage and siting requirements separate from a home occupation.