McLean County, IL Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

" The rule applies throughout every area or facility "owned, leased or supervised by the McLean County Board and maintained for public use as parks and/or recreational areas" under § 282-1, expressly including Comlara Park and West Park by name in the chapter's definitions. This alcohol ban sits alongside a parallel drug-use ban in § 282-3B, which prohibits possessing or using any drug defined as unlawful under Illinois law in a county park except for medications prescribed by a licensed physician. Both prohibitions are enforced by McLean County law enforcement officers, defined in § 282-2 as full-time county employees responsible for enforcing the Criminal Code, traffic laws, and the Illinois Conservation Code within county parks and recreational areas, including nature preserves like the one at Comlara Park.

The chapter's general penalty section, § 282-14C, applies to any violation of Chapter 282: a fine not to exceed $500. The general references note that McLean County also has a separate alcoholic beverages chapter, Chapter 160, but the park-specific ban is a standalone strict prohibition rather than a narrower open-container rule tied to public streets or rights-of-way.