Champaign County, IL Outdoor Lighting: Light Trespass & Shielding (2026)

Section 3.2 of the Champaign County Public Nuisance Ordinance, adopted October 20, 2016, lists the conditions that constitute a public nuisance in the unincorporated county, and subsection D covers light trespass alongside other off-site impacts. It provides that glare in excess of that lawfully permitted and customarily associated with uses permitted in the zoning district is a public nuisance. That means glare escaping a property beyond what a use normally permitted in that zoning district would generate, such as an unshielded commercial floodlight shining onto a neighboring farmstead or subdivision, can be cited even without a numeric lux or footcandle limit written into the code.

Enforcement runs through the ordinance's own complaint process rather than through the Zoning Ordinance. The Zoning Administrator, the Regional Planner or the Champaign County Sheriff can each receive and investigate complaints, issue a Notice of Violation to the responsible person, and refer unresolved cases to the State's Attorney. A person cited can settle by paying the Section 6.3 minimum fine of $100 without going to court, provided the glare-producing condition is corrected. If the case reaches Circuit Court instead, Section 6.4 sets the penalty at not less than $100 nor more than $500 for a first conviction, and not less than $200 nor more than $500 for any later conviction, and the county can also seek an injunction or petition the court under Section 6.5 to enter the property and abate the nuisance itself.