Madison County, IL Noise Ordinances: Construction Hours (2026)
Construction hours in Madison County, IL, sometimes called construction noise rules or contractor work-hour ordinances, set when contractors can run power tools, hammers, and heavy equipment.
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 53.05(F)
- Weekday/weeknight hours barred
- 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- Sunday/holidays
- Barred all day
- Defined holidays
- New Year's, Memorial Day, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas
- Exemptions
- Public utilities; bona fide emergency
- First/repeat fines
- $50-$250 / $150-$1,000
Summary
Construction, drilling or demolition equipment cannot be run in unincorporated Madison County between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. on any day, or at any time on a Sunday or county-recognized holiday, if the sound crosses a residential real property boundary and creates a noise disturbance. County Code Section 53.05(F) carves out public service utilities and bona fide emergencies, but everyone else building or demolishing near a residence has to work inside that window.
HOLIDAYS. For purposes of the application of this chapter, the following shall be considered holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. ... (F) (1) For any person to operate or permit the operation of any tools or equipment used in construction, drilling or demolition work in such a manner that the sound therefrom creates a noise disturbance across a residential real property boundary, at any of the following times: (a) Between 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. CST on any day of the week; or (b) At any time on any Sunday or holiday. (2) Public service utilities are exempt from this provision. Further, no person shall be adjudicated guilty of this provision if he or she demonstrates the existence of a bona fide emergency that necessitated performance of the work during prohibited hours.
Full Breakdown
m. Central Standard Time on any day of the week, and any hour at all on a Sunday or on one of the five holidays the chapter defines, New Year's Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. That means a contractor working a normal weekday schedule is unaffected, but Sunday work and Christmas-week punch lists both fall under the ban regardless of the hour. The section builds in two narrow defenses: public service utilities are exempt outright, and any other operator can avoid liability by demonstrating a bona fide emergency required the work during the prohibited hours, a fact the accused has to raise and prove rather than something the county has to disprove.
As with the rest of Chapter 53, this provision reaches only unincorporated county land; Edwardsville, Alton, Granite City, Collinsville and the county's other cities and villages set their own construction-hour rules inside their limits. 07 makes the chapter control over any conflicting subdivision covenant.
Violations & Fines
A conviction is a misdemeanor under Section 53.99. First offenses draw a fine of $50 to $250, and repeat offenses draw $150 to $1,000, with the court free to add community service to be finished within a year. Because the utility and emergency exemptions are affirmative defenses, a contractor cited for late-night or Sunday work must actually establish the exemption in court rather than simply asserting it, and each day of continued prohibited work counts as its own separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
What hours can construction crews work near homes in the county?
Are utility crews exempt from the construction-noise rule?
Does the rule apply to construction inside Edwardsville or Collinsville?
What happens if a contractor works Sunday without an emergency?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Madison County
How Madison County compares: Cities with the Strictest Construction Hours·Compare Madison County to another location·View the Illinois noise ordinances overview
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