St. Clair County, IL Outdoor Lighting: Billboard Lighting (2026)

St. Clair County's Zoning Code regulates sign lighting under Article VII, Section 40-7-2(J), part of the General Sign Regulations that apply countywide in unincorporated territory. The rule has three parts. First, an absolute distance ban: no sign within 75 feet of a residential zoning district may be illuminated, regardless of how the light is shielded or how dim it is. Second, a content restriction on the light itself: flashing, intermittent, or moving lights are prohibited on any sign, with a narrow carve-out for public-service information such as time, weather, date, and temperature displays.

Full-motion video boards or scrolling ad copy do not qualify for that exception. Third, a glare standard: illuminated signs must be effectively shielded so beams or rays are not directed at the traveled way or at any interstate or primary highway, and the light cannot be so intense that it impairs a driver's vision. Any sign, including a billboard, is also subject to Section 40-7-2(C), which requires a permit before construction or placement unless it qualifies as an identification sign, a small real estate sign, or a governmental sign.

The County Zoning Administrator, appointed under the Zoning Code and answerable to the County Board, administers permits and fields complaints under Section 40-11-8. A billboard operator that installs uniform lighting across a corridor still has to check each pole's distance to the nearest residential district line individually, since the 75-foot measurement runs from the sign, not from the parcel boundary.