Bolingbrook, IL Public Conduct: Loitering Rules (2026)

Section 36-274 of the Bolingbrook Code of Ordinances makes it unlawful to loiter, loaf, wander, stand or remain idle, alone or with others, in a public place in a manner that obstructs a public street, highway or sidewalk, or interferes with pedestrian, vehicle or business access in any place the general public has a right to use. The rule is not a flat ban on standing in public: it targets conduct that actually hinders or impedes free passage or use of adjoining businesses. Before anyone can be cited, a village police officer or other law enforcement officer must first order the person to stop and to move on or disperse; only refusal to obey that order completes the violation under subsection (b).

This two-step structure, warning then citation, means officers cannot write a loitering ticket on first contact. 00 per violation, a schedule that traces back to Ordinance No. 84-020 (1984) and was last amended by Ordinance No. 89-107 in 1989. The section sits in Chapter 36, Article IV, Division 2 (Disorderly Conduct and Related Offenses), alongside mob action (Sec. 36-272) and obstructing exits (Sec. 36-273), reflecting that loitering is treated as a public-order offense rather than a property crime. Because Bolingbrook is a home rule municipality under Article VII, Section 6(a) of the Illinois Constitution, it can enforce this ordinance through its own municipal citation process rather than relying solely on the state Criminal Code.