[1983 Code; 5-16-1980]
A. 
Requirement. The provisions of this chapter in reference to licenses, permits and fees are declared to be of a regulatory nature, and it shall at all times be the duty of the Police Department and/or other enforcing officers designated to regularly inspect the business and/or places of businesses licensed to see that same are being conducted and operated so as to promote the public health, morals, safety and general welfare of the populace and the Village, and in accordance with requirements of this chapter. A license shall create no vested right or interest.
B. 
Granting, Issuance. All licenses or permits (except as may otherwise be specifically provided) shall be granted and signed by the Village President and issued by the Village Clerk. Any application may be ordered by the President or the Village Board to be presented to and approved by such Board before issuance of a permit or application for license. Forms of licenses and permits shall be prescribed and furnished by the Village Board.
C. 
Permit for Commencement of Business.
1. 
Permit. It shall be unlawful for any person to hereafter commence the operation of a business upon or within premises which are open for the general public until a "permit for the commencement of business" is first secured and the provisions of this chapter are fully complied with.
2. 
Application for Permit; Fee. Application for such a permit shall be made to the Village Clerk, which application shall state the name of the owner of the business, the name under which business is to be conducted, the address of the business premises and the type of business.
3. 
Fire Inspection. No permit shall be issued until the Fire Inspector has conducted an inspection of the business premises and certified that there are no violations of the Fire Code.
4. 
Building Code Violations. No permit shall be issued until the Building Commissioner has conducted an inspection of the business premises and certified that there are no violations of the Building Code or that, if there are violations of the present Building Code, such violations existed before the adoption of the present Building Code and are of a type which are permissible by reason of having existed prior to the adoption of the present Building Code.
5. 
Penalty. Any person found guilty of a violation of a provision of this subsection shall be fined not less than $25 and not more than $500 and each day that the violation continues shall be considered a separate offense.
[1983 Code]
A. 
Application. All licenses and permits shall be made in writing on forms to be provided by the Village, and shall be submitted to the Village Clerk unless express provision to the contrary is made. A new application shall be necessary to renew any license at its expiration.
B. 
Investigation. In case the ordinances require an investigation into the character of any applicant or into the premises to be used, the Village President shall cause such investigation to be made. No license or permit shall be issued unless all ordinance requirements have been complied with.
C. 
Bond. In case a bond is required for the issuance of any license or permit, such bond must be a surety company bond to be approved by the Village Board, and must be filed with the Village Clerk before the license or permit issued. The President and/or the President and Board of Trustees may in any case require a bond from licensee where deemed necessary to protect the Village. Said bond shall in no event, be less than the sum of $1,000.
[1983 Code; amended 1-4-1982; 7-15-1985; 1991; 1-18-1999; 7-6-2021; 4-4 2022]
A. 
Required. The fees required for licenses and permits must be paid at the time that application is made.
B. 
Rebate. In no event shall any rebate or refund be made of any license fee or part thereof, by reason of the death of the licensee, or by reason of nonuse of the license, or by reason of a change of location or occupation of such licensee.
C. 
Prorating. In no case shall prorating be made which will relieve the licensee from payment of less than 1/2 of the license fee, and no prorating shall be made in the first six months of the license year.
D. 
Waiver. Whenever, in the opinion of the Village Board, it is to the best interests of public welfare, and the permit sought is for charitable purposes for the interests of a department of the Village or sponsored by some association or group of persons not for profit, the license fee provided for by ordinance may be waived. In any other cases which might arise, the license fee shall be waived only upon a 2/3 vote of the Board elected and in no case shall the filing of an application be waived.
E. 
Rates. No person shall conduct or operate any of the following enumerated business enterprises without first securing a license therefor. The following fees and licenses shall be charged in and for the Village for a license to conduct business where such licenses are charged for revenue purposes only, and the amounts hereinafter set forth shall be charged for inspection fees annually where the statute authorizes such charge for inspection purposes, the said classifications and businesses being charged the amounts set forth following the classification or name thereof. In said classifications the word "employ or employing" is intended to exclude the licensee and members of his immediate family, which immediate family is limited to mother, father, wife, husband, brother, sister, daughter and son.
INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL
Car and Truck Parking which involves charging transient vehicles a fee, as defined in the Zoning Code, to park on the property.
Number of Spaces
Annual Fee
0 to 50
$750
51 to 100
$1,000
Over 100
$1,500
Commercial Enterprises which involve fabricating, assembling, machining, printing, plating, refining, blending, mining, mixing, warehousing and other related activities, which employ:
Type
Fee
None - part-time
$0
None - full-time, self employed
$30
1 or 2
$55
3 to 5
$85
6 to 10
$110
11 to 20
$165
Over 20
$220
Sales and Service Enterprises (except food and beverage dispensers, taverns and caterers).
Group A. Service or sales, or sales and service stores, shops or other enterprises or establishments where the nature of business invites the general public to enter and which employ:
Type
Fee
None - part-time
$0
None - full-time
$20
1 or 2
$30
3 to 5
$40
6 to 10
$55
11 to 20
$85
Over 20
$110
Group B. Service or sales, or sales and service enterprises which are conducted in such a manner or place, or where the nature of business is such that most business is conducted by telephone or correspondence and the general public only occasionally may enter the place of business to arrange for the particular service available or purchase the merchandise offered, and which employ:
Type
Fee
None - part-time
$0
None - full-time
$20
1 or 2
$25
3 to 5
$35
6 to 10
$45
11 to 20
$70
Over 20
$85
Group C. Service or sales, or sales and service enterprises which are conducted door to door:
Type
Fee
Daily fee
$15
Monthly fee
$30
Annual fee
$55
Group D. Service or sales, or sales and service enterprises involving home delivery and/or pick up and delivery prearranged by residents:
Type
Fee
Each truck
$20
FOOD AND NONALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES
Food Dealers, as used in this chapter, shall mean and include all dealers in general foods, such as grocery stores, dealers in meats, poultry and fish, eggs, cheese, butter and lard, dealers in fruits and vegetables, dealers in bakery goods, retail flour and feed dealers, milk dealers, etc., keepers of ordinaries, cafes, restaurants not serving liquor, confectionery stores, coffee shops, ice cream parlors, soft drink parlors, and refreshment stands.
Group A. Retail food stores and restaurants employing:
Type
Fee
None - full-time, self-employed
$20
1 or 2
$30
3 to 5
$40
6 to 10
$55
11 to 20
$85
Over 20
$110
Group B. Wholesale sale and distribution of foods and/or beverages, excluding those who manufacture or process or blend and package foods or beverages, and employing:
Type
Fee
None - full or part-time
$25
1 to 2
$35
3 to 5
$55
6 to 10
$85
11 to 20
$110
Over 20
$165
Group C. Food or beverages manufactured or processing or blending and packaging, including the wholesaling and distribution of such food and/or beverages manufactured, processed or blended, and employing:
Type
Fee
None - full or part-time
$25
1 or 2
$55
3 to 5
$85
6 to 10
$110
11 to 20
$165
Over 20
$220
Group D. Food, beverages and confectionery peddlers:
Type
Fee
Daily fee
$15
Monthly fee
$30
Annual fee
$55
CARTERS
Every person, who shall operate a business in which one or more express wagons, carts, trucks, drays, wagons, automobiles, autocars, auto trucks or other vehicles of any kind, which are garaged or parked upon any parcel of land within the Village and are directly or indirectly dispatched from such parcel of land for the purpose of transporting or conveying building materials and supplies, bundles, parcels, furniture, trunks, baggage, goods, wares, merchandise, produce, foodstuffs or other articles or material within, or into or out of the Village for hire or reward by the loan, or by the weight of the item or items to be transported, or by the day, week, month or year, shall pay an annual fee of $20.
VIDEO GAMING
No establishment licensed by the Illinois Gaming Board shall be permitted to operate any video gaming terminal in the Village pursuant to the Act, unless the establishment also has obtained a license and paid a fee to the Village for each video gaming terminal on its premises; the fee shall be paid in accordance with the Illinois Video Gaming Act, 230 ILCS 40. Except for establishments holding a Class 5 liquor license issued by the Village, the license fee shall be $500, payable January 1 of each year. No license may be issued where the license applicant owes a debt, fine, fee or penalty to the Village, or where the license applicant has been convicted of being, or adjudicated to have been, in violation of any Village code.
MISCELLANEOUS
Vending machines and devices:
Type
Fee
Each vending machine and/or device
$25
Automatic amusement devices
$50
F. 
Contractors.
1. 
Any of the following shall be deemed a contractor for the purpose of this section and are defined as follows:
BUILDING CONTRACTOR
Any person who procures a building permit, who may or may not perform any direct work, but who must sublet all of the work to licensed specialty contractors.
CONTRACTOR
Also includes, but is not limited to, the following occupations:
Air-Conditioning
Awning or Storm Windows-Doors
Carpenter
Catch Basin Cleaner
Cement-Concrete
Decorating
Drywall
Electrical
Excavating
Fence
Furnace Installer, Cleaner or Repairer
Gas Main
General Building Contractor
Glass Installer
Heating
Insulation
Landscaper
Lathing
Masonry
Mover-House
Painting
Paving
Plastering
Plumber
Roofing
Septic or Well
Sewer Builders
Sheet Metal
Sign Installer
Sign Painter
Steel Erector
Tile, Marble or Mosaic
Tuckpointing - Building Cleaning
Water
Wrecker-Houses
GENERAL CONTRACTOR
Any person who has the entire or major portion of a contract, and who employs the basic trades directly to perform building work and sublets to licensed specialty contractors.
SPECIALTY CONTRACTOR
Any person whose operations are the performance of building work requiring special skills whose principal contracting business involves the use of a specialized building trade or craft.
SUBCONTRACTOR
Any person doing business as a subcontractor shall be construed as engaged in the business of a contractor for which a license is required by this section.
2. 
Registration and Certificate Required. No person shall engage in the business of contractor for the erection, construction, repair, or alteration of any building or structure within the Village without first having registered with the Village Clerk and it shall be unlawful to engage in business in the Village as a contractor without first having obtained certificate of registration therefor, paying the applicable license fee and filing the bond as hereafter required.
3. 
Fee. The annual fee for registering as a contractor shall be $50.
a. 
Homeowners doing their own work on single-family owner-occupied properties shall be exempt from registration but must meet the bonding requirements of this Division when doing work valued at more than $15,000.
b. 
The certificate of registration issued hereunder shall remain in effect for one year following its date of issue or issue date of bond, whichever is less.
4. 
Application. Each application shall state the name of the applicant, applicant's address, type of certificate requested, and a statement that the applicant agrees to comply with all provisions of the Village Code. Contractors or tradesmen requiring license by the State of Illinois shall provide a copy of their state license. Electrical contractors shall provide a copy of a license issued by an Illinois "testing community."
5. 
Bond. Every applicant for a certificate of registration as a contractor shall execute and file with the Village Clerk a bond with good and sufficient sureties in the payable to the Village of Thornton in the penal sum of $10,000 shown as applicable condition that the applicant shall, will and faithfully observe all of the provisions of the building code and all other ordinances and regulations of the Village of Thornton, County of Cook, State of Illinois, in relation to such construction, alteration, or repair, in conversion of buildings, and condition further to indemnify, save and keep harmless the Village of Thornton from loss, costs, damage, expense or liability of any kind whatsoever which the Village of Thornton may suffer or which may occur against it, be charged to or recover by the Village of Thornton from or by reason of anything by such person or by any servant, agent, or employee thereof in the construction, alteration, conversion or repair of any building or structure.
6. 
Insurance. Every person registered as a contractor in the Village of Thornton shall show proof of insurance to the Building Commissioner the following amounts:
Type
Amount
Bodily injury liability
$300,000
Property damage liability
$100,000
Business auto
$300,000
Property damage liability
$50,000
Workers compensation as required by Illinois Industrial Commission
7. 
Revocation of Certificate of Registration. The Village Clerk shall serve written notice on the holder of a certificate of registration of intent to revoke said certificate on the recommendation of the Building Commissioner, Fire Administrator or Police Chief, for cause and approved by the Village Board. The contractor must be notified by certified mail of the intent to revoke the contractor's registration and of the alleged violations, and the contractor will have seven days from the date notice is given to correct said violations, or to show cause why there is no violation. Notice shall be given in any of the following forms: by certified mail at the address provided on the contractor's license, by personal delivery, by posting on the site in which the contractor is working.
8. 
Duties of Contractor. It shall be the duty of all contractors hereunder to comply with all provisions of the Code of this Village relating to or regulating the activities engaged in and, in addition thereto, to at least once a week remove or cause to be removed from the site of contractors' activities all trash, refuse and waste materials. Contractors shall at all times keep the site of activities in an orderly condition, free from standing water, unguarded dangerous implements and health and safety hazards, and contractors shall not obstruct traffic on streets or sidewalks or permit dirt or waste materials to fall or be carried onto such public ways.
9. 
Inspection, Enforcement. The provisions of this section are declared to be of a regulatory nature, and it shall at all times by the duty of the Police Department, the Health Department, the Fire Department, and the Building Commissioner regularly to inspect the site of contractor's activities to see that the same are being conducted and operated in accordance with the requirements of all provisions of the Village Code relating thereto.
10. 
Compliance. It shall be the duty of all contractors to comply with all provisions of this Code relating to the erection, construction, alteration, installation, repair or maintenance of any building or structure, to the construction of streets, sidewalks, or pavements, and all provisions pertaining to or regulating the activities engaged in.
11. 
Out of Town Contractors. This section shall apply to all contractors doing business within the Village, whether their place of business is located within or outside the corporate limits of the Village.
[1983 Code]
No license or permit shall be transferred.
[1983 Code]
The Village Clerk shall cause to be kept a record showing every license and every permit issued, showing the sum of money paid, the purpose for which such license or permit was issued, the location where the licensed or permitted privilege is to be exercised and the name of the licensee or person receiving the permit.
[1983 Code]
Every license granted for the purpose of conducting any business or occupation required by ordinance to be licensed, and which designates the particular room, store, office or place in which business so licensed is to be conducted, shall be posted at all times in a conspicuous place, so that the same may easily be seen, upon the wall of the principal room or office of the store or place in which such licensed business or occupation is carried on; and when such license shall have expired, it shall be removed from such place in which it has been posted and no license which is not in force and effect shall be permitted to remain posted upon the wall or upon any part of any room, store, office or place of business, after the period of such license has expired.
[1983 Code]
No licenses for carrying on any business or occupation shall be issued when it appears that the premises or building on or in which the business or occupation licensed is to be conducted does not comply with the provisions as to buildings contained in this chapter, or with any other ordinance of the Village.
[1983 Code]
Whenever a person, firm or corporation desires to conduct a business or occupation within the Village not specifically covered by ordinance (unless no license is required under the law), an application shall be made to the Clerk and the Village Board shall grant or refuse a license or permit, fix a fee therefor and amount of bond if one is required.
[1983 Code]
A. 
Except where otherwise provided, all licenses or permits shall expire on December 31 of the year issued, unless such license or permit is issued for a period of time less than a year.
B. 
If a license is issued for a period in excess of one month, it shall be the duty of the Village Clerk, from 10 to 20 days prior to the termination of the license period, to cause a written notice to be mailed to each licensee, except in the case of dog and vehicle licenses, stating that a new license will be required on the day following the expiration of his existing license and stating also the amount of the license fee and the penalty for failure to procure a license in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance of the Village governing the issuance of such license; provided, however, that failure on the part of the Village Clerk to cause such notice to be mailed to any such licensee shall not waive the requirement that a license be procured.
[1983 Code]
Any license or permit, excepting permits for building construction, may be revoked by the officer authorized to issue such license or permit for any violation of the terms or conditions upon which the license was issued, or of any ordinance relating to the license or the subject matter thereof, and it shall be unlawful to continue to operate any business, trade or occupation, or continue to exercise any privilege or authority granted by any license or permit issued by the Village or any of its duly authorized officers or employees, after the period has expired for which any such license or permit has been revoked.
[2-18-1986]
The operation, use, or permitting to be operated, used or playing of any electronic audio amplification equipment, radio receiving set, phonograph or other machine or device for the amplification, producing or reproducing of music, musical instruments, live entertainment, games, advertisements or sound of any kind shall be conducted wholly within the enclosed building of the license holder. No outside use or operation of any kind shall be permitted.
[1-18-1999]
Any person, firm or corporation violating any provisions of this title shall be fined not less than $50, but not more than $500 for each offense and a separate offense shall be deemed committed on each day during which the violation continues.