Kankakee County, IL Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)

Kankakee County Code § 121-398(2) sets the illumination standard that governs any sign, including a digital or electronic display, erected in a commercial zoning district in the unincorporated county. ' It draws the line at movement rather than brightness, stating flatly that 'No sign display shall have or consist of moving parts,' which bars mechanically animated components on a digital billboard even where the electronic image itself may change. A second safety-driven limit applies to any sign, digital or otherwise, positioned where drivers can confuse it with a traffic signal: 'A sign located in direct line of vision of any traffic control signal shall not have flashing or intermittent illumination of red, green, or amber color,' the same three colors used on stoplights.

This illumination standard sits ahead of, and applies to, both the business-sign rules in § 121-398(3) and the advertising-sign (billboard) rules in § 121-398(4), so a digital billboard in a commercial district must satisfy the no-moving-parts and traffic-signal-color limits on top of the size, height and setback figures set for advertising signs, including the 825-square-foot area cap and 30-foot height limit. The planning director administers sign permits and fees under § 121-395(h) and (i), and may order an unsafe or noncompliant sign repaired or removed after written notice, with removal at the property owner's expense if the owner does not comply within ten days.