Bloomington, IL Public Conduct: Jaywalking (2026)

Bloomington's traffic ordinance addresses mid-block and diagonal crossing in two adjoining sections of Chapter 29's pedestrian article. City Code § 29-1005 (Ch. 29, Sec. 76) provides that no pedestrian shall cross a roadway at any place other than by a route at right angles to the curb or by the shortest route to the opposite curb, except in a crosswalk. The next section, § 29-1006 (Ch. 29, Sec. 77), goes further: no pedestrian shall cross a roadway other than in a marked crosswalk or an unmarked crosswalk at an intersection, except where a tunnel or overhead pedestrian crossing is provided.

Together, the two sections bar the classic mid-block jaywalk, whether diagonal or straight across, unless the crossing point is a marked crosswalk, an intersection's unmarked crosswalk, or a designated tunnel or overhead crossing. The surrounding article also requires drivers to yield to pedestrians lawfully in a crosswalk under § 29-1002 and requires pedestrians to keep to the right half of a crosswalk under § 29-1004, reinforcing that crosswalks, not mid-block gaps, are where crossing is meant to happen. The Bloomington Police Department enforces these pedestrian rules as part of Chapter 29's traffic code, and violations fall under the chapter's general penalty provision at § 29-2605, which sets a fine of not less than $10 nor more than $500 for violating any provision of the Traffic Ordinance, unless a more specific fine applies.