Homer Glen Window Well Covers & Basement Windows
Homer Glen has a local code amendment that is broader than most: all basements shall have at least one means of egress opening onto a public street, public alley, yard or exit court, or an egress door with the closest access to the exterior. Not just basement bedrooms — all basements.
In practice that means window wells, and Homer Glen has a great many of them. The median home here was built in 1989, and 45.8% of the village's housing went up in the single 1970-to-1989 window — the largest concentration of any era we work in. More than half of Homer Glen homes predate 1990.
The village itself is much younger than its houses. Homer Glen incorporated on April 17, 2001, which means most of the homes here were permitted before the village had a building department of its own.
Long Run Creek And The Neighborhoods The Village Named
Homer Glen is candid about where it floods, which is more than most towns manage. The Woodbine Area Drainage Study, presented to the Village Board on November 25, 2015, was scoped to identify the frequency and location of flooding in the Long Run Creek watershed and to propose solutions.
The study named the affected areas directly: Woodbine, Woodbine West, Pebble Creek, Saddle Brook Run and Stadtler Ridge Estates. The village has also cleaned blockages and debris out of Long Run Creek in the area of Jessica Lane and Creekview Drive, and it has pursued enforcement against structures, fill, berms and driveways built in the floodway and floodplain without permits, working with IDNR, FEMA, the MWRD and the Army Corps.
Separately, the Oak Valley Stormwater Improvement Project removed sediment at a cost of roughly $180,000 including engineering, described by the village as part of ongoing efforts to fix flooding problems. If you live in one of the named areas, surface water is the water you are fighting, and an uncovered well is a direct path for it.
The 2024 Code And What It Requires
Homer Glen adopted the 2024 International Residential Code under Section 75-5 of the village code, most recently amended by Ordinance No. 25-011 on March 26, 2025. The village also adopted the 2024 International Building Code including Appendix G, flood-resistant construction, and the 2023 National Electrical Code.
The local amendment to watch is Section R319.1: all basements shall have at least one means of egress opening onto a public street, public alley, yard or exit court in compliance with R319, or an egress door with the closest access to the exterior. That is a broader trigger than the base code's bedroom rule.
Homer Glen has no local amendment setting window well dimensions, ladder rules, sump pump discharge or downspout discharge, so those follow the unamended 2024 IRC. The village's floodplain ordinance does require the lowest floor, including the basement, to be at or above the flood protection elevation in mapped areas. Confirm your project with the Building Department at 708-301-1301 — the village's permit list includes windows and doors as well as interior and exterior remodeling, and the village asks that you call if you are unsure whether a permit is required.
A Semi-Rural Village With Deep Basements
Homer Glen covers 22.17 square miles for about 24,500 residents, which is why it still feels semi-rural. It spans three townships — Homer, New Lenox and Orland — mostly in Will County with a small portion in Cook. It was known as Goodings Grove before incorporation, and police services come from the Will County Sheriff's Office.
Water and sanitary sewer are provided by Illinois American Water, an investor-owned utility, in those areas of the village that can be served by water mains. The three wastewater plants inside the village — Oak Valley, Derby Meadows and Chickasaw Hills — were built in the early 1970s, years before the village existed.
The subdivision names read like a hydrology map: Long Run Acres, Spring Creek, Spring Creek Trails, Pines of Spring Creek, Crystal Creek, Deer Creek, Pebble Creek, Mallard Lakes, Twin Lakes. The village's one National Register listing is Stone Manor, an 1865 Italianate limestone house built by Elijah D. Gorham with stone from Joliet, added to the Register on November 26, 1980.
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