Kendall County, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)
Key Facts
- Permit required
- Special use permit, § 36-874(3)
- General buffer
- 1,000 ft from residential/business districts
- Extra state buffer
- 55 ILCS 5/5-1097.5, schools/parks/worship
- Regulated uses list
- 9 categories incl. adult bookstore, striptease club
- Not a retail/general use
- Cannot qualify under other use categories
- Fine for violation
- Up to $500 per week, § 36-3
Summary
Kendall County treats adult bookstores, theaters, entertainment facilities and similar uses as regulated uses that need a special use permit and cannot sit closer than 1,000 feet to homes, businesses or the area being zoned. Kendall County Code Section 36-874(3) adds a second layer of separation from schools, day cares, parks and churches under state law.
(3)Adult regulated uses.a.The following uses are deemed to be regulated uses:1.Adult bookstore.2.Adult motion picture theater. ... c.Restrictions on location of regulated uses. No regulated use, either as a permitted use or as a special use, shall be maintained:1.Within one thousand (1,000) feet of the area to be zoned;2.Within one thousand (1,000) feet of any of the following zoning districts or provided for under this chapter: A-1 SU PUD, all residential zoning districts, and all business zoning districts; or3.Within one thousand (1,000) feet of a zoned area or district lying within a municipality and zoned for any kind of residential, business or commercial office, or office-research use under an ordinance of that municipality.d.In addition to the preceding requirements, adult entertainment facilities shall also comply with the separation requirements as established under 55 ILCS 5/5-1097.5 from the property line of any school, child day care facility, cemetery, public park, forest preserve, public housing, and place of religious worship.
Full Breakdown
Kendall County Code Section 36-874(3) lists nine regulated uses: adult bookstores, adult motion picture and mini-motion picture theaters, adult entertainment facilities, adult use generally, adult massage parlors or spas, tattoo parlors and permanent body art establishments, striptease or gentlemen's clubs, and adult video stores. None of these uses counts as a retail business, service business, recreational facility, school or general land use for zoning purposes, so they cannot slip through under a broader use category; they need their own special use permit, available in the M-1 Light Industrial district under this section.
Subsection (c) then layers on three separate 1,000-foot buffers: a regulated use cannot sit within 1,000 feet of the area being zoned for it, within 1,000 feet of the A-1 SU PUD district, any residential district, or any business district, or within 1,000 feet of a residential, business, commercial office or office-research zoned area inside a municipality. 5 from the property line of any school, child day care facility, cemetery, public park, forest preserve, public housing or place of worship, and the code specifies that this state-law buffer overrides any less restrictive distance elsewhere in the chapter. Section 36-981 restates the same nine-use list for purposes of determining permitted-versus-special-use status county-wide.
Violations & Fines
Operating a regulated use without the required special use permit, or inside any of the 1,000-foot buffers set by Section 36-874(3)(c), violates Chapter 36 under Section 36-3: a petty offense with a fine of up to $500, and each week of continued operation is a separate offense. The county can also seek abatement, an injunction, or revocation of any license or permit tied to the property, on top of its prosecution costs and attorney's fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an adult bookstore or strip club open anywhere in unincorporated Kendall County?
Is there an additional distance requirement from schools or churches?
What zoning district allows these regulated uses?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kendall County
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