Waukegan, IL Sidewalk & Pedestrian Rules: Obstruction Rules (2026)
Key Facts
- Removal deadline
- 20 days after written notice
- Who enforces
- Director of public works or police department
- Fine range
- $25.00 to $750.00 per day, Sec. 1-13
- City self-help
- City may remove and bill the owner
Summary
Waukegan bans erecting or leaving any building, fence, porch, steps, gallery or other obstruction on a street, sidewalk or public ground. Sec. 18-1 gives the owner up to 20 days after written notice from the director of public works or police department to remove it before the city tears it out and bills the owner for the cost.
Prohibited; owner to remove after notice. No person shall erect, construct or place any building, fence, porch, steps, gallery or other obstructions upon any street, sidewalk or other public ground, nor shall the owner of such obstruction, or the person in possession and control thereof, permit the same to remain in or upon such street, sidewalk or other public ground. The owner or person in possession and control thereof shall remove such obstruction within such reasonable time, not exceeding 20 days, as he shall be required to do so by written notice served on him or his agent by the director of public works or the department of police. Removal by city; recovery of costs. Whenever the owner or person in possession or control of any obstruction in any street, sidewalk or public place fails to remove the same after notice as prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, or without notice if the owner cannot be readily found for the purpose of notice, the obstruction shall be deemed a nuisance, and the department of police or the director of public works shall summarily remove the obstruction, and the expense thereof shall be recovered from the owner.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 113).
Full Breakdown
The ban covers anyone who erects, constructs or places an obstruction on public property, and it also reaches the owner or person in possession who simply lets one remain there. Under Sec. 18-1(a), once the director of public works or the police department serves written notice on the owner or the owner's agent, the owner has no more than 20 days to remove the obstruction. If the deadline passes without removal, or if the owner cannot readily be found so no notice can be served, subsection (b) declares the obstruction a nuisance.
The department of police or the director of public works may then summarily remove it, and the city recovers its removal expense from the owner. This obstruction ban sits in Article I of Chapter 18, the same article that separately regulates merchandise display stands (Sec. 18-2), removal of barricades around defective sidewalks (Sec. 18-3), and dumping of substances on public places (Sec. 18-5), showing the city treats unpermitted structures in the right-of-way and hazardous debris as related but distinct offenses. Because Sec. 18-1 does not set its own fine, a violation falls back on the Code's general penalty clause in Sec. 00, with each day the obstruction remains constituting a separate offense.
Violations & Fines
No specific fine is written into Sec. 18-1, so a violation defaults to the general penalty clause in Sec. 1-13: a fine of not less than $25.00 nor more than $750.00, with every day the obstruction stays in place counting as a new offense. The city can also skip straight to removal and billing the owner once notice periods run out or the owner cannot be located.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as an illegal sidewalk obstruction in Waukegan?
How long do I have to remove an obstruction after notice?
What happens if I don't remove it in time?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Waukegan
Compare Waukegan to another location·View the Illinois sidewalk & pedestrian rules overview
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