Nearly one-third of the active elevators and conveyances like escalators and lifts in Champaign County appeared to have expired safety certificates in the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s (OSFM) database last November.

A CU-CitizenAccess review of nearly 1,000 active elevators in the county found at least 315 with expired certificates of operation as of November 2025, with some expired for months. The records were released in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.

In addition, a spot check of ten buildings in Champaign found two elevators had mismatched data on the certificate of operation displayed inside the elevator. One displayed an up-to-date certificate, despite being expired in the database. The other displayed an expired certificate, despite being up-to-date in the database.

A certificate of operation is only issued after an elevator passes a state-mandated inspection, and it must be renewed every year. Additionally, property owners must provide the state with a renewal application and the required fee of $100 for new registration or $75 for renewal.

JC Fultz, public information officer for the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, said the public can rely on the database in response to questions about expired certificates. 

“It will ensure and inform the public that the elevators are safe, if the inspection reports are logged, and the certificates are current,” Fultz said in an email.

Schools and other public buildings were among the locations with elevators that had an expired certificate of operation as of November.

About 85% of the records reviewed were about elevators, including the location, use, the certificate expiration date and when it was last inspected. But some other entries in the state’s system are years out of date. 

One handicapped lift at 501 E. Grove St. in Champaign was listed as expired since July 2009. A dumbwaiter at 1907 N. Cunningham Ave. in Urbana appeared to have expired in June 2011. Yet according to the database, both are considered active.

Under the Illinois Elevator Safety and Regulation Act, all elevators, escalators and other conveyances like dumbwaiters must undergo annual inspections, but the state itself does not inspect most elevators directly.

In response to questions about inaccuracies, the fire marshal’s office said its system depends on documentation submitted by licensed inspection companies. These companies issue the required annual inspections and safety tests. The agency also reviews incident reports, accident reports and complaint follow-ups as part of its quality control process.

“This is an active database and updates are performed daily as circumstances warrant,” the office said.

Licensing documentation on the office’s website shows that Illinois currently licenses 182 elevator inspectors statewide through private firms, local governments or state agencies.

According the office, Champaign County’s number of expired certificates does not indicate a unique problem:

“There is a degree of non-compliance in all 102 counties in Illinois. Champaign County is not unique, as we work hard with the resources that are available to the OSFM to meet the safety needs across the state.”

Enforcement and penalties

Illinois requires annual elevator inspections, which are conducted by licensed elevator inspection companies. These companies are licensed separately from elevator contractors.

The penalty for an expired certificate is a $50 fine. In response to questions about whether this amount deters noncompliance, office representatives said the fines are “statutorily set in the rules.”

Office representatives also said that if the inspection report is not filed in a timely manner before the certificate expires, then there will be one late fee per conveyance annually.

In a response to a Freedom of Information Act request for the number and amount of late fees issued in Champaign County in the past two years, the office said no documents exist at its office regarding fees and fines. 

However, the office provided a document with 323 elevators in Champaign County that had overdue inspections as of Nov. 21, 2025. 

“Expired Certificates of Operation dates are posted on our website … and we act accordingly,” office representatives said.

If a property owner does not schedule the required inspection, the office can tag and lock off the elevator.

When property owners do not schedule inspections, the inspection process “is controlled by the OSFM and both third-party inspection companies and elevator contractors are licensed through our agency,” office representatives said.