Springfield, IL Sign Regulations: Political Signs (2026)

Outside that residential exemption, Chapter 152 is a full permitting system: Sec. 05 requires a sign permit before any sign is erected, altered, rebuilt or relocated, charged per the Chapter 170 commercial fee schedule, plus a $100 late fee (or the permit fee, whichever is larger) if work starts before the permit issues. Sec. 07 has the building and zoning department examine plans before issuing that permit. None of that applies to a political campaign sign on a residential lot: Sec. " The zoning code's Sec.

301(b) list of signs exempt from regulation as "signs" at all restates the identical carve-out at (b)(15), sitting alongside other exemptions like flags, traffic signs and memorial plaques, meaning a residential political sign isn't subject to the chapter's permit, size or placement standards the way a business sign is. Both provisions trace to the same state hook, 65 ILCS 5/11-13-1(12), the Illinois Municipal Code's zoning-powers section. The exemption is limited to residential property; a political sign posted in a commercial or industrial district falls back under the general sign rules of Chapter 152.