Macon County, IL Home Business: Home Daycare (2026)

Macon County Code § 155.115(B) governs land use in the R1 Single Family Residential District, and its permitted-use list, § 155.115(B)(1), does not include day care. Instead, § 155.115(B)(2)(c) places 'day care or day nursery facilities' on the district's special-use list, alongside governmental structures and incidental parking lots, meaning a residential property owner who wants to run a day care home needs a special use permit rather than simply opening one as a home occupation. Section 155.116 extends the same rule to the R2 Single Family Residential District by cross-reference, adopting all of R1's permitted and special uses.

Getting the special use permit means going through §§ 155.180-155.182: the Administrative Officer refers the petition to the Board of Appeals for a public hearing, and the proposed day care must otherwise comply with all of the district's regulations, including the § 155.183 height and area table and the § 155.195-155.201 off-street parking standards for the specific use. Once granted, the permit is tied to that specific use and becomes void if it is not substantially underway within one year, or if the day care operation ceases for more than a year, under § 155.047(C) and (D).

This is distinct from ordinary home occupations, which § 155.115(B)(1)(f) allows as a permitted use without a special hearing; a day care crosses into the special-use category because of the traffic, occupancy, and business-activity concerns the Board evaluates case by case.