Peoria County, IL Noise Ordinances: Barking Dogs (2026)

Section 5-9 of the Peoria County Code declares that no person owning, possessing or harboring an animal may permit it to become a nuisance, and it lists excessive barking, caterwauling or other noisemaking as one of six specific nuisance conditions (§ 5-9(a)(3)), alongside property damage, unsanitary conditions, vehicle chasing and attacking people or other animals. The barking provision does not apply to animals defined as livestock under 505 through 510 ILCS, and it exempts dogs trained for law enforcement duty. Enforcement is not automatic: § 5-9(d) requires the support of a complainant before a violation complaint can issue, meaning Animal Control Services will not cite a barking dog on an anonymous tip alone.

Complaints specifically alleging excessive barking under § 5-9(a)(3) are routed to the hearing officer under Chapter 2, Article V (Code Hearings) for adjudication, rather than being decided informally by an officer in the field (§ 5-9(e)). Because barking is not one of the aggressive-behavior nuisances listed in § 5-9(a)(5) (chasing, molesting, attacking or biting), it falls outside that subsection's own escalating $300/$600/$1,000 penalty schedule and is instead penalized under the county's general animal control penalty section, § 5-12. Owners found impounding or interfering with an animal control officer's enforcement of a nuisance-barking case can also face the separate interference penalty under § 5-10.

Any fines and fees collected are deposited into the county's Animal Control Fund under § 5-14, and the county board receives an annual report on the program's activity under § 5-5.