Springfield, IL Public Conduct: Aggressive Panhandling (2026)

12, added in 2017 after the city repealed its earlier stand-alone panhandling ban, defines "solicitation" broadly as initiating a transaction where money or consideration changes hands or is promised, on any street, public way, place, or park. "Aggressive solicitation" is a list of ten specific tactics: touching the solicited person without consent, approaching within five feet without consent, continuing after a negative response, soliciting someone waiting in line to enter a business, soliciting within ten feet of a business entrance during entry or exit, blocking a person's or vehicle's path, following a person after they've been solicited, soliciting a minor, using profane or abusive language or making a statement that would make a reasonable person fear for their safety, and soliciting in a group of two or more.

Beyond aggressive tactics specifically, subsection (b) bans any solicitation, aggressive or not, aimed at someone in a parked vehicle or within 20 feet of a bank, ATM, check-cashing business, transit stop, public restroom, pay phone, theater, youth program facility, or outdoor cafe seating. Subsection (d) separately bans all solicitation after sunset or before sunrise. The ordinance carves out exceptions for passively sitting with a sign, street performance without a vocal request, and vendors at a permitted event like a farmers' market or street festival. A conviction brings a fine of $25 to $100 or eight to 40 hours of public or community service per violation, with each act of solicitation charged as a separate offense, and courts can enjoin repeat violators from further conduct under the chapter.