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21 schools in Illinois offer electrician-related programs, compared below on official cost, completion, and earnings data. Prefer to earn while you learn? 105 registered apprenticeship sponsors in Illinois train electrician apprentices — see apprenticeships. Federal program data groups electrician with electrical lineman — schools below may offer any of these.
Illinois has no state electrician license — licensing is handled city by city, and Chicago is the dominant jurisdiction: its Department of Buildings issues Supervising Electrician and Electrical Contractor licenses, with the supervising exam requiring at least 2 years of experience and testing on Chicago's own electrical code. Suburban municipalities license separately, often via ICC exams, and credentials don't automatically transfer. Most electricians train through a registered apprenticeship and work under a licensed supervising electrician or contractor.
Official source: City of Chicago Department of Buildings (no statewide licensing agency for electricians) · Exam: Chicago Supervising Electrician examination (Chicago Electrical Code); suburban municipalities commonly use ICC-based exams — credentials do not automatically transfer between them · Typical requirement: Chicago Supervising Electrician: at least 2 years of electrical experience plus passing the city exam (based on the Chicago Electrical Code); electrical contractors must employ or be owned by a licensed supervising electrician
| School | City | Type | Net price / yr | Completion | Earnings (10 yr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joliet Junior College | Joliet | public | $1,672 | 20.4% | $42,889 |
| Illinois Valley Community College | Oglesby | public | $2,232 | 37.2% | $40,810 |
| Lake Land College | Mattoon | public | $2,254 | 55% | $38,877 |
| Lewis and Clark Community College | Godfrey | public | $3,349 | 50% | $37,724 |
| Kishwaukee College | Malta | public | $4,574 | 36.6% | $39,657 |
| Prairie State College | Chicago Heights | public | $4,738 | 20.4% | $36,696 |
| Rock Valley College | Rockford | public | $5,242 | 32.4% | $39,158 |
| College of DuPage | Glen Ellyn | public | $7,401 | 24.7% | $46,909 |
| John A Logan College | Carterville | public | $5,541 | 31.7% | $34,096 |
| Kaskaskia College | Centralia | public | $6,477 | 39.1% | $38,801 |
| College of Lake County | Grayslake | public | $7,607 | 34.1% | $43,424 |
| John Wood Community College | Quincy | public | $7,050 | 42.1% | $38,631 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Richard J Daley College | Chicago | public | $7,886 | 34.2% | $37,962 |
| Parkland College | Champaign | public | $8,048 | 29.5% | $38,320 |
| Waubonsee Community College | Sugar Grove | public | $11,442 | 32.2% | $44,788 |
| Illinois Eastern Community Colleges | Olney | public | $10,092 | 56.1% | $37,533 |
| Southwestern Illinois College | Belleville | public | $10,427 | 33.1% | $36,884 |
| City Colleges of Chicago-Kennedy-King College | Chicago | public | $9,494 | 27.4% | $28,467 |
| Lincoln College of Technology-Melrose Park | Melrose Park | private for-profit | $25,598 | 61.7% | $38,683 |
| Midwest Technical Institute-Illinois | Springfield | private for-profit | $27,793 | 71.9% | $33,601 |
| HVAC Technical Institute | Chicago | private for-profit | $20,403 | 81% | not reported |
Ranking = median earnings 10 years after entry per $1,000 of average yearly net price (methodology). Schools without both figures sort last — "not reported" means the federal dataset lacks the value, not that the school is bad.
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