Cook County Zoning Ch. 102 caps window signs at roughly 25 percent of glazed area in unincorporated commercial districts. Suburban Cook municipalities each set their own rules: Evanston allows 30 percent, Oak Park 25 percent, Schaumburg 20 percent, with permanent versus temporary distinctions.
Window signs are regulated as part of total permitted sign area in most Cook County jurisdictions. In unincorporated Cook, Ch. 102 of the zoning ordinance generally counts window signage toward the aggregate sign allowance and limits combined window coverage to about 25 percent of the window area in B-1, B-2, and B-3 business districts. Suburban municipalities vary widely. Evanston Code Ch. 4-10 caps window signs at 30 percent of glazed area but exempts holiday and incidental signs. Oak Park Sign Code Sec. 7-8 sets a 25 percent cap with a 30-day temporary sign exception. Schaumburg, Skokie, Cicero, and Berwyn each maintain separate window sign limits between 15 and 30 percent. Tenants should always check local municipal code before storefront installation.
Exceeding window sign coverage limits, or failing to remove temporary signs after permitted periods, are zoning violations. Cook County and suburban municipalities issue citations with daily fines until the storefront complies with local sign code limits.
See how Evanston's window signs rules stack up against other locations.
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