Peoria, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Adult Entertainment (2026)

Article III of Chapter 18 (Secs. 18-50 through 18-85) governs sexually oriented adult uses in Peoria: adult bookstores, adult video stores, adult cabarets, adult motels, adult mini/motion picture theaters, and adult model studios. Sec. 18-53 sets the spacing standards: no adult use may sit within 500 feet of another existing adult use, none but an adult bookstore/video/novelty store may sit within 750 feet of a district zoned R-1 through R-8 or RE-Estate Residential (B-1, C-1 and C-2 do not count as residential for this rule), and adult bookstores/video/novelty stores specifically must stay 700 feet from R-1, R-2, or R-3 districts. No adult use may operate within 500 feet of a preexisting school or place of worship, may not share a building with any business that sells alcohol, and may not serve alcohol on-site unless it separately holds a Class A liquor license under Sec. 3-52 (Sec. 18-61). Distances are measured in a straight line, property line to property line, per Sec. 18-54, ignoring any structures in between.

Sec. 18-76 requires a separate license from the city comptroller for every location, filed in person with a notarized application; Sec. 18-77 requires the applicant's legal name, proof of age 18 or older, a scaled floor diagram showing lighting and any areas off-limits to patrons, and the type of adult business sought. The comptroller must act within 20 days of a complete filing (Sec. 18-78), and a license lasts one year, renewable at least 90 days before expiration. Sec. 18-82 sets the license fee at $220 for initial issuance and each renewal. Sec. 18-57 bars anyone under 18 from working at or entering the premises, and Sec. 18-59 requires city inspections at least twice a year.