Buying Land in Union County, Illinois

Government and land use: no townships, and apparently no general zoning

Union County is one of only 17 Illinois counties -- alongside Alexander, Calhoun, Edwards, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Menard, Monroe, Morgan, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Scott, Wabash, and Williamson -- that never adopted township government. A Board of County Commissioners handles the county's legislative and executive functions, and the county is instead divided into precincts, which -- unlike townships elsewhere in Illinois -- carry no independent governing authority of their own; county government performs those functions directly.

Beyond the missing township layer, this research pass found something further worth flagging: the U.S. Department of Energy-supported Energy Zoning database, which tracks renewable-energy zoning status county-by-county nationwide, classifies Union County as "Unzoned" -- meaning no general/comprehensive zoning ordinance appears to govern land use in unincorporated Union County. This research pass found no evidence of a dedicated county zoning department, zoning ordinance text, or Zoning Board of Appeals for Union County, distinct from the advisory comprehensive-planning work the Logan-Union-Champaign Regional Planning Commission has done for the county (a 2013 and a more recent 2025 comprehensive plan, plus subdivision regulations) -- planning guidance is not the same as a legally enforceable zoning code. If accurate, this would mean unincorporated Union County land use is governed primarily by whatever subdivision regulations, building-code requirements, and state/federal law apply, rather than by zoning districts and use restrictions. Confirm this directly with the Union County Clerk's office or County Board before relying on it for a specific parcel -- this is exactly the kind of fact that can change with a new county ordinance, and this research pass could not access unioncountyil.gov directly to verify current status.

Land inside Anna, Jonesboro, Cobden, or Dongola -- Union County's incorporated municipalities -- is governed by that municipality's own separate zoning code, regardless of the county's own zoning status.

Trail of Tears State Forest and the Shawnee National Forest

Trail of Tears State Forest, established in 1929, covers 5,114 acres in western Union County, roughly five miles northwest of Jonesboro. It's managed as a multiple-use site for timber, wildlife, ecosystem preservation, watershed protection, and recreation, including a 222-acre Ozark Hills Nature Preserve where hunting is prohibited. Elsewhere on the property, hunters pursue squirrel, deer, turkey, and raccoon, with sign-in/sign-out and harvest-reporting requirements at registration boxes and standard Illinois state hunting and firearm permits required. Both drive-up (Class C) and backpack (Class D) camping are available, and horseback trails operate seasonally from May 1 through the opening of the first firearm deer season in mid-November.

Union County also holds a stretch of the Shawnee National Forest, the single largest publicly owned landholding in Illinois at roughly 280,000 acres spread across 13 of the state's southernmost counties, with over 146 miles of rivers and more than 200 lakes. For a buyer specifically interested in hunting or recreational land, the combination of a large state forest and a Shawnee National Forest presence gives Union County meaningfully more public-land recreational context than most Illinois counties on this site. See our dedicated hunting-land page for Union County for more detail on what buying land near either property involves.

Septic, wells, and other departments to know

Septic and water-well permitting in Union County runs through the Southern 7 Health Department, a multi-county health district serving Alexander, Hardin, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Pulaski, and Union Counties -- not a Union-County-only department. The Union County clinic location is at 260 Lick Creek Road, Anna, IL, and the department's Private Sewage Disposal & Water Supply Program inspects pumper trucks, reviews sewage-system applications, issues septic permits, and conducts private-well inspections under the statewide IDPH and Illinois Water Well Construction Code frameworks.

The Union County Supervisor of Assessments (Union County Courthouse, 309 W. Market St., Jonesboro) handles property valuation, and the Union County Clerk and Recorder's office (same address) holds recorded deeds, easements, and plats for a specific parcel. Confirm GIS/parcel-map availability directly with the Assessor's office, since online GIS access appears more limited here than in larger Illinois counties.