McLean County, IL Animal Ordinances: Mandatory Spay/Neuter (2026)

Section 165-7 of Chapter 165, titled Running at large prohibited, carries a mandatory-alteration clause at subsection B, added July 17, 2008: a dog found running at large a second or subsequent time shall be spayed or neutered within 30 days after being reclaimed unless already spayed or neutered, and failure to comply shall result in impoundment of the dog. The trigger is a second or later at-large citation for the same dog within the unincorporated, subdivided residential areas that Section 165-7A regulates; a first offense carries only the running-at-large fine, but the second offense adds the surgical mandate on top of it.

The owner bears the cost and must reclaim the dog first, at which point the 30-day clock starts running toward the spay or neuter deadline rather than toward an additional citation. If the owner does not have the surgery performed in time, Animal Control does not simply issue another fine: it impounds the dog again, which restarts the reclamation and fee process under Sections 165-16 and 165-17. , per Section 165-8, and dogs already altered before the second offense are exempt from the requirement since the section only reaches unaltered dogs.