Quiet hours in McHenry County, IL — also called the noise ordinance, nighttime noise rules, or residential quiet time — define the hours during which excessive noise is prohibited.
In unincorporated McHenry County, any prolonged, harsh, unusual, or raucous noise audible 100 feet or more from the source's lot line is a public nuisance if it causes unreasonable discomfort to neighbors. Cities like Crystal Lake and Woodstock set their own quiet hours.
McHenry County's Nuisance Noise Ordinance governs unincorporated areas (property outside any city or village). Rather than a fixed decibel limit, it bans noise that is prolonged, harsh, unusual, or raucous when it carries 100 feet or more from the lot line and disturbs surrounding residents. Officers weigh proximity to sleeping areas, land use, time of day, and duration; a decibel meter is not required. Free speech, agricultural activity, registered vehicles, and public-agency work are excluded. Incorporated cities enforce their own noise codes: Woodstock caps sound levels from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and Crystal Lake bars unreasonable yelling, shouting, or amplified noise from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.
First offense $100; each later offense $100 to $1,000. Each day is a separate offense. County may also seek injunctive relief and cease-and-desist orders.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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Crystal Lake collects yard waste and food-scrap compost weekly at the curb from April 1 through November 30. Leaves and grass must go in biodegradable paper ...
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Crystal Lake and McHenry County have no ordinance specifically banning or approving residential artificial turf. Installations must still meet Unified Develo...
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Illinois' Homeowners' Native Landscaping Act bars community associations from banning native-species plantings that are kept free of weeds and don't encroach...
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Neither Crystal Lake nor McHenry County prohibits residential rain barrels or rainwater collection, and Illinois has no statewide ban. The McHenry County Sto...
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Crystal Lake uses a color-coded water-conservation system. During a declared 'Yellow' condition, odd-numbered addresses water on odd dates and even addresses...
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Crystal Lake Chapter 526 lists noxious weeds - burdock, ragweed, thistle, poison ivy, wild mustard and others - plus any unmanaged vegetation as nuisance gre...
See how McHenry County's quiet hours rules stack up against other locations.
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