Law would lighten load for building inspectors

Federal lawmakers are considering a plan to hand out $100 million to suburbs overwhelmed by sprawl or slammed by natural disasters to help beef up critical building inspections.

"This is an area of real concern," said supporter U.S. Rep. Melissa Bean, a Barrington Democrat. "Consumer protection is a critical role of government."

The new legislation comes after a Daily Herald and ABC7 I-Team investigation revealed suburban building inspectors are rushed on the job and potentially missing critical safety issues in new homes.

The analysis of inspector workloads in Chicago and six suburbs found average workloads for inspectors as high as one inspection every 34 minutes. Industry experts say the average workload should be no more than one inspection every two hours or only two major inspections a day.

Rush to Inspect is a two-part series exploring how the growing workload of local home inspectors is affecting suburban homebuyers. Stories Getting a safe and sound home [11/15/07] Are private inspectors the answer? [11/15/07] Are overscheduled building inspections putting homes at risk? [11/14/07]How many inspections are too many? [11/14/07] Council pushes for federal funds for more inspectors [11/15/07] Video Local home inspectors Montgomery home problems Graphics Checking out your houseRunning against the clock The investigation also found the number of new-home buyers who filed construction complaints with the state attorney general's office jumped 40 percent between 2005 and 2006. And similar grievances lodged with the local Better Business Bureau rose 21 percent this year over last.Officials from towns analyzed in the investigation disputed the results and said their inspectors are not cutting corners in the rush to get the job done. Still, the problems were clear to Bean, who called the report "frightening."The funding boost, introduced last week in Congress, would make $100 million available over five years to towns facing major building booms or recovering from natural disasters, such as tornadoes or floods. The measure is being pushed by the International Code Council, which writes the building codes adopted by towns across the country. "Too often, especially in smaller communities, there simply aren't sufficient resources for building safety," said ICC CEO Rick Weiland in a news statement. It remains unclear if the plan has enough backers to pass.