The New 2018 Illinois Accessibility Code went into effect on October 16, 2018. It closely resembles the federal version of the code. Listed below are a few examples of the changes found in Chapter 6 Plumbing Elements and Facilities.

The most notable change is that now toilets will have a 2” clearance window! Section 604.2 LOCATION shows the centerline of the water closet can now be 16 to 18 inches from the side wall! This is a huge change from the 1997 IAC, where (Fig. 28) showed it had to be EXACTLY 18 inches from the side wall. This flexibility is a win fall for the industry and will result in far less corrections being needed. As most plumbers will tell you, perfect is not impossible, it just takes longer & costs a bit more money.

Ambulatory Stalls only had a few changes. #1-Stalls are now referred to as a “compartment.” #2-The location in the book where the information is found has changed from section 400.310 n) 5) to section 231.3.1. A little harder to find and may give the initial appearance that it was removed from the code. But these compartments are still a requirement when there are 6 or more toilet stalls in a restroom. One compartment still has to be wheelchair accessible but, an additional (an ambulatory) stall which needs to have grab bars and a toilet height of 17-19 AFF is needed. The stall/compartment width can be 36” like the other stalls but, the door needs to swing out like the larger wheel chair accessible one.

Urinal flush valves can now be as high as 48” AFF If the forward reach does exceed 20 inches. This is important because “stall type” urinals (floor mounted) are taller than typical wall hung urinals and they require the flush valve to be installed higher than the 44” that was previously the maximum allowed height in section 400.310.

Another significant plumbing change is in the tub/shower section, 607.6 tells us that bathtub shower spray units shall deliver water that does not exceed the maximum temperature allowed by the ILLINOIS PLUMBING CODE This is a major change from the 1997 version of the IAC where section 400.310 o) 10 ) WATER TEMPERATURE set the temps in lavatories, bathtubs and showers to not exceed 110 F, but now it looks like a shower can be set to 115 deg F by 890.690 b) of the 2014 ILPC.

Thank you, I hope the information is helpful to you.