Bloomington, IL Trash & Recycling: Illegal Dumping (2026)

City Code § 28-119, 'Improper use of undeveloped land,' is Bloomington's illegal-dumping ordinance for vacant ground. It bars five specific acts on undeveloped private or public property: driving or parking a motor vehicle, motorcycle or bicycle on it outside of lawful work; dumping or depositing garbage, refuse or debris as defined in the City's Chapter 21 Refuse Code; possessing open containers of alcohol or consuming alcohol there; starting or maintaining fires; and polluting or dumping any substance, or swimming, in any body of water on the property.

'Undeveloped private or public property' is defined broadly to include vacant land with no buildings or structures, land where more than half of existing buildings are abandoned or uncompleted, and land devoted to nothing but agriculture, including areas near creeks, drainage ways or detention basins unless the land is a park or golf course. The ordinance builds in only two affirmative defenses: the person charged owns the property or is an immediate family member of the owner, or the person charged has the owner's prior written consent to do what is complained of.

Penalties escalate with repeat conduct: a first conviction for improper use of undeveloped property, including illegal dumping, is fined not less than $10 nor more than $100, while every subsequent offense is fined not less than $25 nor more than $500. The offense is prosecuted as a Chapter 28 behavioral violation, so the Bloomington Police Department can issue a citation settled by fine payment before referral to Administrative Court or McLean County Circuit Court.