Mount Prospect, IL Noise from Specific Sources: Bar & Nightclub Noise (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Mount Prospect Village Code § 13.404, Entertainment
- Test
- Entertainment audible at any point beyond the licensed premises boundaries
- Applies to
- Every licensed premises under the Village liquor chapter
- Outdoor live music
- None from 11:00 P.M. to 11:00 A.M. under the endorsement
- Fine
- $250.00 first offense, $500.00 each subsequent offense
- Continuing violation
- A separate offense on each day it continues
Summary
In the Village of Mount Prospect, Illinois, no liquor licensee can allow entertainment that is audible at any point beyond the boundaries of the licensed premises. Village Code § 13.404 covers live acts and prerecorded music, amplified or not. The fine is $250.00 for a first offense and $500.00 for each later one.
No entertainment shall be permitted on any licensed premises if that entertainment is audible at any point beyond the boundaries of the licensed premises. "Licensed premises", in this instance, shall not apply to a duly issued ad hoc permit or an outdoor entertainment license endorsement so long as the permittee or licensee complies with all other conditions of the permit or endorsement and all other regulations of the Village.
Full Breakdown
Section 13.404 of the Mount Prospect Village Code sits in Chapter 13, the liquor chapter, so it binds every holder of a Village liquor license. The text is a single test: no entertainment is permitted on a licensed premises if that entertainment is audible at any point beyond the boundaries of the licensed premises. The Village Board did not attach a decibel reading or a clock time to that test. What counts is whether someone standing past the property line can hear it.
The chapter defines entertainment as any playing of prerecorded music or voices or any live act or performance, whether or not using sound amplification. Prerecorded music and an unamplified live act both fall inside the rule.
The one carve-out covers a duly issued ad hoc permit or an outdoor entertainment license endorsement. A permittee or licensee keeps that protection only by complying with all other conditions of the permit or endorsement and all other regulations of the Village. The outdoor entertainment endorsement, described in § 13.204.1, is open to a Class F licensee and allows outdoor live music. No such live music can be played between eleven o'clock (11:00) P.M. and eleven o'clock (11:00) A.M. The Commissioner can attach further conditions to the endorsement to protect the peace and quiet of the surrounding area. The Commissioner, the Village Manager or a designee of either has the absolute right for cause, and without the necessity of a hearing, to order the immediate cessation of the live music. The fee schedule lists the outdoor entertainment endorsement at $0.00.
The rule works alongside the service hours in § 13.403. Class P licensees cannot serve from twelve o'clock (12:00) midnight to eight o'clock (8:00) A.M. each day. All other licensees are shut off from one o'clock (1:00) A.M. to eight o'clock (8:00) A.M. Monday through Friday, from two o'clock (2:00) A.M. on Saturday, and from two o'clock (2:00) A.M. to nine o'clock (9:00) A.M. on Sunday, with later cutoffs on Thanksgiving Day and January 1.
Noise from a bar also reaches the nuisance article. Section 23.1403 H lists § 13.404, "Entertainment", among the provisions that make offensive noise a nuisance, and § 23.1402 makes each obligation in that article the joint and several liability of every owner and responsible party, a term that includes owners, tenants, occupiers, property managers and lessees.
Violations & Fines
A violation of § 13.404 is an offense under Chapter 13. Section 13.601 sets the fine in Appendix A, division III at $250.00 for the first offense and $500.00 for each subsequent offense, or community service at one hour for every $10.00 of mandatory fine. A separate offense is committed on each day a violation occurs or continues. The fine is assessed whether or not the violator is convicted or placed on supervision, and it can be added to any penalty imposed on the licensee in an administrative proceeding. The nuisance listing in § 23.1403 H carries its own $100.00 fine.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a decibel limit for bar music in Mount Prospect?
Can a Mount Prospect restaurant have outdoor live music?
What is the fine for a noise violation by a liquor licensee?
Who is liable when a bar's noise becomes a nuisance?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Mount Prospect
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