Champaign, IL Noise Ordinances: Vehicle Noise (2026)

Sec. 21-32(a) prohibits operating or permitting the operation of any sound amplification system in or on a motor vehicle that can be heard outside the vehicle for 75 feet or more while the vehicle is on a public right-of-way, exempting only systems used to request assistance or warn of a hazard; Sec. 21-32(b) exempts authorized emergency vehicles entirely. Sec. 21-33 bars owning or using a vehicle equipped with a siren, whistle, bell or gong unless it is an emergency vehicle or the device is strictly an anti-theft alarm that cannot double as a warning signal, that lacks a muffler and exhaust system in constant operation and good working order, or whose exhaust has been modified to amplify or increase noise above what the factory-installed system produced.

Sec. 21-31 limits this article to motor vehicles as defined in the Illinois Vehicle Code while in operation or located on a public right-of-way, carving out vehicles engaged in interstate commerce. Sec. 21-34 presumes the registered owner permitted a Sec. 21-32 or 21-33 violation and holds the owner equally responsible if someone else was actually driving. Sec. 21-35 classifies violations of this article as traffic violations for which a uniform citation may be issued, distinguishing enforcement from the nonvehicular noise rules in Article II.