Building permit leads for contractors in Illinois

Every permit is a homeowner or business who has decided to spend money on a property. For a contractor, that's a lead: sometimes for the job itself, more often for the work that comes next door to it.

Reading a permit like a lead

• New construction brings fences, decks, landscaping, window treatments and HVAC service later.
• A roof permit often comes with gutters, siding or solar a season later.
• Remodels and additions pull electrical, plumbing and HVAC work along with them.
• The contractor named on the permit tells you who's busy where: your competition, or your next subcontracting partner.

Timing

Some towns publish permits the day they're issued through an online portal; others release a report once a month, or only on request. A monthly report is still useful, but it isn't a live feed, so we say where each permit came from.

What we hold today in Will County

47,994 building permits we can share, from:

• City monthly permit reports, released via foia archive: 40,064
• The town's online permit system, collected on a schedule: 4,434
• Part of the county permit portal's list (an older copy, not refreshed): 2,780
• Copies released under the freedom of information act: 716

The trades with the most permits:

• Roofing: 14,900
• Fence: 8,030
• Windows, doors and siding: 7,418
• Other construction: 4,462
• New construction: 3,970
• Remodel: 3,159

Start with Joliet's building permits or Naperville's, or see Permit Leads to get new permits for your trade and towns.