Bloomington, IL Sign Regulations: Freeway-Facing Signs (2026)

Bloomington's Advertising Sign Code, Section 3-501(F), sets a sliding scale for freestanding and ground sign height keyed to the width and posted speed limit of the abutting right-of-way: on a right-of-way of 60 feet or less, the cap runs from 20 feet at 15-20 mph up to 30 feet at 35-50 mph; on a wider right-of-way it runs from 30 feet up to 50 feet. A footnote to that table carves out the freeway exception this category is named for: a freestanding sign may reach 100 feet above grade if it sits within 1,320 feet of the right-of-way line of a Federal Aid Interstate Highway interchange, roughly a quarter mile of I-55 or I-74.

Subsection (G) layers on a second, state-law condition: any freestanding sign meant to be viewed from an expressway or interstate highway, not just those near an interchange, must also conform to the Illinois Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971. 5 and 10 feet above curb grade, requires 14 feet of clearance where a sign overhangs a driveway or parking lot, and limits any embellishment above the height cap to 20% of that cap with no advertising content on it. The Administrator, the Director of Economic & Community Development or a designee, issues the sign permit and enforces the chapter; an unlawfully placed or unsafe sign can be removed under Section 3-905 and redeemed only after paying the City's removal cost, never less than $25.