Oak Park, IL Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Village Code § 7-7-3 defines a political sign as one whose function is to draw attention to or communicate a position on any issue, candidate, or measure in a national, state, or local election. Section 7-7-12 then lists that category, alongside noncommercial signs generally, among the signs the Village allows without requiring a sign permit at all. The only conditions attached are that the sign go up on private property, not public right-of-way or Village-owned land, and that the property owner has given consent. That puts political and noncommercial signs in the same exempt tier as bulletin boards for places of worship, warning signs, official government flags and markers, and temporary construction signs, none of which need a permit before installation.

Because political signs are exempt rather than separately capped by size, height, or duration in the article's exempt-sign list, they still remain subject to the article's general standards that apply to all signs regardless of permit status, including the prohibition on signs that create a traffic hazard by obstructing visibility at an intersection or driveway, and the ban on off-premises signs other than transit shelter signs. A political sign placed on public property without Village authorization, or without the consent of a private landowner, falls outside the exemption and can be removed without notice under the article's general location standards.