Constitutions
Federal
State
Legislative enactments -- laws passed by government bodies
Federal
Senate
House of Representatives
State
Senate
General Assembly
Administrative regulations adopted by government agencies
State Licensing boards
Departments
Federal
State
Courts
Federal courts
Jurisdiction:
Diversity of Citizenships
Admiralty
Bankruptcy
Actions involving the United States
Violations of Federal Criminal Statutes
Federal Appellate Courts
U.S. Supreme Court
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals (11 regions)
Federal Trial Courts
U.S. District Courts (1 or more per state)
Specialized Federal Courts
Court of Claims
Tax Court
Patent Court
State Courts
State Appellate Courts
State Supreme Court
Intermediate Courts of Appeals
State Trial Courts
Superior, District, or Circuit Courts (county seat) -- judge presides, jury in certain cases
Criminal cases
Personal Injury
Commercial
Domestic (divorce, custody, adoption)
Probate
Review of determinations of government agencies
Subordinate Courts
Municipal Courts
Small Claims Courts
"Pro Se" court
Justices of the Peace (do not exist in Illinois)
Court decisions (precedent)
Types of Law
Contract Law (enforceable agreement between parties)
Contract is an agreement between two or more parties
A real agreement (meeting of the minds)
Lawful
Valid consideration (exchange)
Legal competence
Lawful form (architectural and construction contracts may be oral)
Tort Law (disputes between parties who have no contractual relationship)
Federal Government
U.S. Department of Justice (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990)
Consumer Products Safety Commission (safety glazing)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Fair Housing Amendments Act
Minimum Property Standards for One and Two-Family Dwellings
Minimum Property Standards for Multi-Family Dwellings
Federal Department of Transportation (Federal highways)
State Government
Illinois Department of Public Health www.idph.state.il.us/home.htm
Illinois Plumbing Code www.ilga.gov/commission/jcar/admincode/077/07700890sections.html
Hospital Licensing
Plumbing Inspection Bureau
IEPA (Illinois Environmental Protection Agency) www.epa.state.il.us
IDOT (Illinois Department of Transportation) - regulates Illinois highways www.dot.state.il.us
CDB (Capital Development Board) produces and interprets the Illinois Accessibility Code www.cdb.state.il.us/default.shtml
Illinois Attorney General - enforces the Illinois Environmental Barriers Act and Illinois Accessibility Code www.ag.state.il.us
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation www.idfpr.com
Architects' Licensing
Professional Engineers' Licensing
Structural Engineers' Licensing
Landscape Architects' Title Registration
Interior Designers' Title Registration
Land Surveyor's Licensing
Real Estate Broker's and Salesperson's Licensing
IHDA (Illinois Housing Development Authority) - finances multi-family housing www.ihda.org
Illinois State Board of Education - regulates design and construction of all public schools in Illinois www.isbe.state.il.us
Local Government
Local Housing Authority (such as CHA)
Zoning Administrator
Plan Commission
Building Official
Plan Examiners
Building Inspectors
Design Review Commission
Landmarks (Historic Preservation) Commission
Landscape Commission
Accessibility Administrator
Board of Appeals
Bureau of Standards and Tests
Board of Appeals
City Council
Permit Expediters
Independent (non-governmental) Standard Setting Organizations
"Model" Building Code Organization
ICC (International Code Council) www.iccsafe.org - created the International Building Code, now used by most suburbs around Chicago and most other cities and states in the country. This organization consolidated the following three code-writing groups in 2002:
BOCA (Building Officials and Code Administrators) which used to produce the BOCA/National Code.
ICBO (International Council of Building Officials) which used to produce the UBC (Uniform Building Code).
SBCCI (Southern Building Code Congress International) which used to produce the SBC (Standard Building Code).
ASTM International (formerly called "American Society for Testing and Materials") www.astm.org
ANSI (American National Standards Institute) www.ansi.org
UL (Underwriter's Laboratories) www.ul.com
NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) www.nfpa.org - produces a building code collection competing with the ICC; produces accepted standards for fire sprinkler systems and NFPA101 Life Safety Code which is required to be followed in addition to the IBC for most assembly type buildings, schools and hospitals.
NIBS (National Institute of Building Sciences) www.nibs.org
Building Environment & Thermal Envelope Council
Building Seismic Safety Council
Facility Information Council
International Alliance for Interoperability (producing standards for computer-integrated design)
Multi-hazard Mitigation Council
Facility Maintenance and Operations Committee
Professional and Trade Associations
AIA (American Institute of Architects) - produce contract documents used extensively in the building industry www.aia.org
ALA (Association of Licensed Architects) www.licensedarchitect.org
ASLA (American Society of Landscape Architects) www.asla.org
APA (American Planning Association) www.planning.org
CSI (Construction Specifications Institute) www.csinet.org
NOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects) www.noma.net/local
ASCE (American Society of Civil Enginers) www.asce.org
SEAOI (Structural Engineers Association of Illinois) www.seaoi.org
PCI (Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute) www.pci.org
PCA (Portland Cement Association) www.cement.org
AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute) www.steel.org
WWPA (Western Woods Products Association) www.wwpa.org
APA (Engineered Wood Association) formerly American Plywood Association, hence the name www.apawood.org
AWI (Architectural Woodwork Institute) www.awinet.org