Macon County, IL Sign Regulations: Digital Billboards (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- § 155.184(B)(8)(i)-(j)
- Flashing/rotating lights
- Banned within 50 ft of R District
- Revolving beacons
- Banned outright, all districts
- Billboards
- Folded into same sign standards
- Flashing sign definition
- § 155.008: light not constant
- Penalty
- Up to $500 per offense, weekly
Summary
Macon County's zoning code never uses the phrase 'digital billboard,' but it regulates any sign whose light is not constant: § 155.184(B)(8) folds billboards into its front-yard sign rules and bans revolving beacons and any sign with exterior, brilliant, intermittent, rotating, or flashing lights within 50 feet of an R (residential) District boundary in unincorporated Macon County.
(i) No billboard, poster, flag, pennant, streamer, outdoor display or other advertising device not meeting the requirements above shall be permitted.
(j) Revolving beacons which resemble traffic control devices or emergency vehicle signs shall not be used. No signs employing exterior, brilliant, intermittent, rotating, or flashing lights shall be permitted within 50 feet of the boundary of any R District.
Full Breakdown
184(B)(8), the same subsection that lists front-yard sign allowances by size and mounting. Subsection (i) states that no billboard, poster, flag, pennant, streamer, outdoor display or other advertising device not meeting the requirements above shall be permitted, which folds billboards squarely into the section's requirements rather than treating them separately. Subsection (j) then bars revolving beacons which resemble traffic control devices or emergency vehicle signs outright and prohibits any sign employing exterior, brilliant, intermittent, rotating, or flashing lights within 50 feet of the boundary of any R District.
008 definition of SIGN, FLASHING: any illuminated sign on which the artificial light is not maintained stationary or constant in intensity and color at all times when the sign is in use, a definition that expressly extends to any revolving, illuminated sign. 136(B)(1)(b).
Violations & Fines
A sign that violates the § 155.184(B)(8) lighting standard, including a flashing or digital display within 50 feet of an R District, is a zoning violation under Macon County Code § 155.999: a fine of up to $500 for each offense, with each week the noncompliant sign remains in place treated as a separate offense. The Planning and Zoning Department can order the illumination brought into compliance or the sign removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Macon County have a rule specifically for digital or electronic billboards?
Can a digital billboard be placed right next to a residential neighborhood in unincorporated Macon County?
What is the penalty for an illegal flashing billboard in the county?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Macon County
Compare Macon County to another location·View the Illinois sign regulations overview
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