My late father-in-law (in Lake County, Illinois) could not believe that we didn’t need a building permit to build a house in S.E. Missouri. He said such a thing was impossible, unthinkable. “How will they collect your property taxes?”, he asked.
Reason 1,000,000 I live in the country. Built a whole house just the way I wanted Permission from NO ONE. Then several years later added on about 2,000 square feet. Again asked no one. Took the County 2 years to barely increase my property taxes.
Behind the cheddar curtain in Walworth county Wisconsin, you need a permit just to get a new washing machine or fix your fence - no kidding. And yeah, they charge you to prosecute you for something. It’s a bs money game.