Waukegan, IL

Waukegan requires a City Forester permit before removing any tree six inches or greater in diameter at breast height, any oak tree, or any tree in a conservation easement, preservation…

Waukegan expressly allows artificial turf as acceptable ground cover on registered vacant and defaulted-mortgage properties under Sec. 6-411(d), while banning gravel, broken concrete…

Waukegan property owners must trim tree branches to a clear ten feet above any street and eight feet above any sidewalk, and remove dead limbs that overhang public ways. Non-compliance…

Waukegan allows compost bins as a by-right accessory use in most districts, but only in the rear yard, in a fully enclosed receptacle with a tight lid, under UDO Section 9.03.C.11.

Waukegan's accessory use table allows a Rain Barrel or Rainwater Cistern by right ("A") in all seventeen zoning districts, with no building permit and no additional use standard…

Waukegan caps weeds and grass on every lot at eight inches under Property Maintenance Code § 302.4, adopted at City Code § 6-178. Noxious weeds are banned outright, and after a notice…

Waukegan runs a mandatory odd/even watering schedule every summer: from May 15 through September 15, even-numbered addresses water on even calendar days and odd-numbered addresses…

Unincorporated Lake County requires every designated open space area created by a subdivision or development to be landscaped with native plant materials rather than turf grass or…

Barbed wire and electrically charged fences are flatly banned on every residential lot in Waukegan under Sec. 6-308; on non-residential lots the code enforcement board may approve them…

Waukegan caps residential fences at 4 feet in front and corner side yards and 6 feet in interior side and rear yards under UDO Section 9.03.C.17. Non-residential districts allow taller…

No fence or planting screen may go up in Waukegan without a fence permit from the building department under Sec. 6-301, and the application must include a property survey plus a…

Retaining walls in unincorporated Lake County must sit at least 4 feet from property lines and stay under 6 feet tall without director approval.

Under the Illinois Fence Act (765 ILCS 130/3), adjoining landowners must each build and maintain a just proportion of the division fence between their properties. A legal fence stands…

Waukegan bans playing or operating any device that creates or amplifies sound for entertainment or communication on the public way, or in a vehicle on the public way, if it is audible…

Waukegan requires every motor vehicle, motorboat, stationary engine, and air compressor to run with a working muffler in constant use, and bans exhaust cutouts, bypasses, or similar…

Waukegan's 50-foot amplified-sound ban does not apply to construction, demolition or repair noise generated between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., so contractors working within that window…

Waukegan Code § 4-8 bans letting a dog or other animal make excessive noise, like continual barking or howling louder than normal conversation at 50 feet, that disturbs a neighbor's…

Waukegan caps continuous sound at 50 dbA in residential districts, 55 dbA in commercial districts and 75 dbA in industrial districts between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. Readings above…

Waukegan caps continuous sound at the property line by zoning district and time of day under Sec. 11-32's Table A: 55 dBA by day and 50 dBA at night in residential districts, 60/55 in…

Aircraft noise in Illinois is governed exclusively by federal aviation law, leaving cities and the state without authority to regulate flight operations or in-flight sound.

Waukegan bans any direct or indirect feeding of birds, gulls or other wild animals at the Waukegan Municipal Beach. The rule sits in the beach rules list of Section 11-42 and carries…

Waukegan Code § 4-2 flatly bars keeping cattle, sheep, goats, horses, mules, swine, chickens, or any other fowl or livestock anywhere in the city, and declares animals kept in…

Waukegan Code § 4-5 limits any household to a combined total of three dogs or cats of licensing age at one time, unless the chief of police grants written permission for more. Owners…

Waukegan Code § 4-41 requires owners to keep dogs and cats under restraint at all times, barring them from crossing the property line unleashed or roaming an unfenced yard without a…

Waukegan pet stores cannot sell a dog or cat for anything beyond nominal consideration. Sec. 4-68 bans retail 'pet trader' sales outright, letting stores only host licensed breeders'…

Waukegan does not order every pet fixed, but City Code Sec. 4-41 makes it mandatory the second time a dog or cat is caught running at large. After a second or subsequent at-large…

Waukegan doesn't require a permit to keep bees, but it lets police order hives removed within five days once a neighbor complains that the bees are a vexation, annoyance, or danger…

Waukegan zones animal boarding facilities and shelters, including the boarding side of veterinary operations, as a conditional use limited to specific business and industrial…

Waukegan doesn't require every owner to microchip a pet, but Code § 4-16(b) requires any dog or cat impounded for certain violations to be microchipped before redemption at a $15.00…

Waukegan does not ban dogs by breed; instead Sec. 4-101 lets the chief of police declare an individual dog 'dangerous' after an unprovoked attack, impound it during the investigation…

Waukegan Code § 4-2 makes it unlawful to keep any wild animal anywhere in the city, and Sec. 4-1 defines a wild animal as any undomesticated species not customarily suited to live in a…

Waukegan lets residents manage feral cat colonies but only through a registered trap-neuter-return program. Sec. 4-49 requires any caretaker feeding or maintaining a feral colony to…

Waukegan's bird-friendly design ordinance requires at least 80 percent of exterior glass, from ground level to 100 feet, to be bird-safe glazing on new or renovated city-owned…

Waukegan classifies pet groomers under 'Personal Services Establishment,' the same zoning category as barbershops and dry cleaners, expressly naming 'animal grooming establishments' in…

A wildlife rehabilitation facility in unincorporated Lake County cannot open on a zoning certificate alone. County Code Section 151.112(DDD) requires a delegated conditional use…

Waukegan bans the sale, offer for sale, possession for sale, use, or explosion of fireworks citywide under City Code § 9-2, except for supervised public displays permitted by the fire…

Waukegan lets residents run outdoor fireplaces and fire pits without a burning permit under City Code Sec. 15-26(b), but only if the unit sits at least five feet from any property…

Waukegan caps permanent bulk liquefied petroleum gas storage at 200 gallons citywide and requires a Fire Prevention Bureau permit for any bulk LP tank. City Code § 9-112 puts the fire…

Waukegan bans open burning of leaves, brush, tree trimmings, paper, garbage and other combustible material anywhere in the city, public or private, under Sec. 10-8. The only way around…

Waukegan's Life Safety Code amendments require every licensed family or group day-care home inside a one- or two-family dwelling to install smoke alarms wired to the building's…

Waukegan's hotel-motel tax code treats booking platforms and online travel companies as "owners" of the rental, making them legally responsible alongside the host for collecting and…

Waukegan requires every short-term rental to first be registered as a rental property and then licensed specifically as a short-term rental before it can be advertised or rented. The…

Waukegan caps every licensed short-term rental at the maximum occupancy figure set under Chapter 6 of the city code, and that number must be posted where guests can see it near the…

Every short-term rental transaction in Waukegan is subject to the hotel/motel-style occupancy tax imposed under Article IV of Chapter 20 of the city code. The owner must collect that…

Waukegan bans parking on designated snow routes after a snowfall of two inches or more until the police department finishes plowing. The ban carries a mandatory $75 fine, and the chief…

Waukegan bans parking in 17 specific locations under city code, including in front of any driveway, within an intersection, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, and within 20 feet of a…

Waukegan confines RV, trailer, and boat parking to the interior side or rear yard behind the front of the house, bans overnight street parking from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., and requires the…

Waukegan limits front-yard parking to single-family and two-family homes and townhouses, and only on an actual driveway; other residential and industrial properties cannot use the…

Waukegan limits how long trucks, trailers, buses, and other large commercial vehicles can sit on a street for loading or unloading: no longer than necessary to complete the job, on…

Waukegan designates dozens of specific residential streets, from Berwick Boulevard to Willow Court, as permit parking only. Permits come through the police department traffic division…

New single-unit and two-unit dwellings built in Waukegan must include at least one EV-ready parking space per dwelling unit, and larger developments must scale up EV-capable, EV-ready…

Waukegan bans junked, wrecked or unlicensed vehicles from any street outright, and gives private property owners only 72 hours before an abandoned vehicle must be enclosed in a…

Waukegan bars limousines, buses, tow trucks, semi-trailers, box trucks, and construction, landscaping, and agricultural vehicles from residential-district parking unless garaged…

Waukegan bars parking anywhere in the city between 2:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. unless the vehicle displays a current city sticker, and separately bans overnight parking on 17 named streets…

Illinois runs two layers of private-property towing law, and which one you are under depends on the county. Statewide, 625 ILCS 5/4-203(f) governs every nonconsensual tow from private…

Waukegan requires the owner of an accessory dwelling unit lot to live on the same property as the ADU, a residency mandate written into UDO Section 9.03.C.1.f alongside the rental…

Waukegan's accessory dwelling unit rule flatly bars axels or wheels on the structure, closing the door on towable tiny homes and park-model trailers being used as detached ADUs under…

Waukegan limits residential sheds to one per lot, 144 square feet in the R1 through R5 districts, placed only in the rear or interior side yard, and requires a building permit under…

Waukegan allows one detached accessory dwelling unit per lot in the R1 through R5, L1, L2, and L3 districts, capped at 900 square feet, subject to site plan review under UDO Section…

In unincorporated Lake County, an accessory dwelling unit cannot be rented out as a separate income property while the owner lives elsewhere: the property owner must occupy either the…

Waukegan's Unified Development Ordinance caps home-based businesses at one client, customer, or pupil on-site at any given time. Outside-visitor businesses may operate only from 7:00…

Waukegan's home-based business standard limits signage to a single nameplate sign no larger than one square foot, far smaller than the eight-square-foot yard sign otherwise allowed in…

Waukegan lets any residential zoning district run a child day care home for three to eight children under a business license from the city, but the license only issues after the city…

Waukegan's UDO permits a home-based business in any dwelling unit citywide as an accessory use, but subjects it to a business license, a residency requirement for the operator, a…

Unincorporated Lake County treats cottage food operations as home occupations under Section 151.112(F) of the county zoning code. Operators must submit an annual cottage food operation…

A building permit is required for any Swimming Pool or Hot Tub in Waukegan's residential districts, and Section 9.03.C.36 caps aboveground pools at six feet in height, requires a…

Unincorporated Lake County adopts the 2024 ICC International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, so hot tubs and spas need a Planning, Building and Development permit and a code-compliant…

Waukegan requires owners of vacant lots left after a demolition to remove all foundations, fill and grade the lot, and plant and maintain grass seed or sod, with weed height controlled…

Waukegan's building department can demolish or repair dangerous, unsafe, uncompleted or abandoned buildings anywhere in the city under Sec. 6-267, then bill the owner and file a lien…

The Illinois Snow and Ice Removal Act shields residential property owners from liability for natural accumulations cleared in good faith, applying uniformly statewide.

New Waukegan developments must plant one large shade tree per 40 linear feet of street frontage in unpaved parkways, spaced to clear sidewalks, driveways, hydrants, utility poles, and…

Waukegan defines a heritage tree as any tree 18 inches or larger in diameter at breast height and lists heritage trees among the 'Protected Areas' that trigger the Unified Development…

Waukegan requires utilities working in the public right-of-way to take special protective measures around specimen trees and trees of special significance, and it can bill a utility…

Waukegan inspects at least 33 1/3 percent of a licensed rental building's units every year, cycling every unit through inspection within three years, under Section 14-4(d). Buildings…

Waukegan caps pawnbroker licenses at three citywide and charges a $3,000 annual fee. Every pawnbroker must post a $1,000 bond, keep an ink-written loan ledger, and let police inspect…

Selling cigars, cigarettes, cigarette papers or wrappers in Waukegan requires a retail sales license under § 14-411, with an annual fee set in the city's fee schedule (§ 14-1101) and a…

Waukegan requires a dedicated adult establishment license before any adult cabaret, adult store, adult theater, or adult booth operation can open, and Section 14-307 keeps every one of…

Waukegan's Unified Development Ordinance gives Motor Vehicle Repair and/or Service no designation in the CR district or in any of the five residential districts, which under Section…

Waukegan zones tattoo and piercing shops as 'Body Art Establishments,' a defined use tracked in the Unified Development Ordinance's use table and capped at 4 off-street parking spaces…

Operating a massage establishment or working as a masseuse or masseur in unincorporated Lake County requires an annual license from the County Board, with a $100 fee and fines of $25…

Waukegan's citywide ban on open burning of waste does not reach outdoor cooking: Section 15-26(a) exempts grills that use natural gas, propane, charcoal or other commercial grill fuel…

Waukegan exempts outdoor grills from its citywide open-burning ban under City Code Sec. 15-26(a), as long as the grill is designed and used for cooking food and burns natural or…

Every owner of rental housing in Waukegan, even a two-unit building where the owner lives, must be licensed by the city's licensing official under Section 14-4. Owners must disclose…

Waukegan's Property Maintenance and Housing Code, adopted at City Code § 6-176, sets the minimum habitability floor for every rental unit. Landlords must supply heat to 68 degrees…

Illinois requires a 5-day written notice for nonpayment of rent (735 ILCS 5/9-209), a 10-day notice to quit for lease violations (735 ILCS 5/9-210), and a 30-day termination notice for…

Under 735 ILCS 5/9-207, ending a month-to-month or other tenancy under one year requires 30 days' written notice; a week-to-week tenancy requires 7 days. The statute lets the landlord…

Illinois has no statewide rent control and no cap on rent increases. The Rent Control Preemption Act, 50 ILCS 825, bars every unit of local government, including home rule cities, from…

Illinois has no statewide statute setting a maximum rent increase or a dedicated advance-notice period for raising rent, and the Rent Control Preemption Act (50 ILCS 825) bars local…

Illinois sets no statewide cap on residential security deposits. Under the Security Deposit Return Act, 765 ILCS 710, a landlord of a building with 5 or more units who keeps any of a…

Adverse possession in Illinois generally requires 20 years of possession (735 ILCS 5/13-101). The period drops to 7 years when the occupant holds under claim and color of title 'made…

Anyone canvassing or soliciting door-to-door in Waukegan without prior invitation must first register with the city collector under § 14-371, providing ID, employer, product details…

Waukegan makes it a nuisance for solicitors to enter a private residence uninvited once the owner has posted a no-solicitation notice, and caps door-to-door home solicitation to 9…

No restaurant, cafe or bar in Waukegan may serve food or drinks outdoors without first obtaining an outdoor dining permit under § 14-499, part of the city's Outdoor Dining Ordinance…

Waukegan requires a special event permit from the mayor before any block party or temporary street closure, filed at least 30 days ahead through the city website. Block party…

Waukegan requires a special event permit from the mayor before anyone stages a parade, defined in Sec. 15-176 as any march, procession or motorcade of three or more persons, animals or…

Waukegan defines a parklet as a non-permanent platform, short wall, planter or ornamental-fence structure that turns a street or parking space into an outdoor dining area under §…

Waukegan treats a street fair or festival as a 'special event' under Sec. 15-176 because it is an outdoor gathering that disrupts normal street traffic or needs city services like…

Lake County uses one special event permit, issued by the County Engineer for closing a county highway, to cover both public gatherings like parades and commercial filming for movies…

Waukegan bans outdoor sales, including pushcarts and mobile or stationary stands, by anyone selling under the home solicitation and peddlers article (§§ 14-606-14-611), per § 14-612…

Operating a mobile food preparer or mobile food dispenser in Waukegan requires a one-year mobile food vendor license under § 14-481. Applicants must show a current Lake County Health…

Waukegan confines licensed mobile food dispensing units to specific marked locations and hours under § 14-484(a): the Municipal Beach 8 a.m.-8 p.m. daily, private property with owner…

Waukegan Code § 3-50 makes it unlawful to host, permit, or fail to stop a gathering of three or more people at any residence or property under your control where minors drink alcohol…

Waukegan makes aggressive panhandling a separate offense under City Code Secs. 15-129 and 15-130. The ordinance defines it as an in-person request for immediate money or a gratuity…

Waukegan bans using cannabis or any cannabis-infused product in any public place or inside a motor vehicle, on top of the possession limits set by state law, making public consumption…

Waukegan adopts the Smoke-Free Illinois Act into its own code, banning smoking within 15 feet of any entrance, exit, or opening window of a public place or workplace, and letting…

Waukegan pedestrians who cross a roadway outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk must yield the right-of-way to every vehicle on the road. Between signalized intersections, crossing…

Waukegan Code § 3-30 bars anyone from consuming alcoholic liquor in any public place in the city, including retail stores, unless the spot is licensed for on-premises sale and…

Waukegan makes it unlawful to loiter in public with the purpose of engaging in drug activity, and lets officers weigh nine listed circumstances, from acting as a lookout to fleeing at…

Waukegan bans riding or using a skateboard on every street and sidewalk inside the Downtown Business District under City Code Sec. 15-22. The district runs from Grand Avenue south to…

Waukegan residents may not put solid waste containers or recycling bins at the curb before 4:00 p.m. the evening before pickup, and must pull them back in by the evening of collection…

Waukegan supplies every residential unit with one 18-gallon recycling bin under Sec. 10-4(a), for use in the city's curbside program that collects plastic, glass, paper, and metal…

Waukegan residents cannot set garbage carts or recycling bins at the curb before 4:00 p.m. the evening ahead of their scheduled collection day, and containers have to come back off the…

Waukegan defines bulk item waste, oversized items like furniture, mattresses, appliances and tires that won't fit a standard cart, in City Code § 10-1. Normally these items can't be…

Commercial buildings, industrial sites, and apartment structures of four units or more in Waukegan cannot use residential garbage carts; Sec. 10-7 requires them to keep an…

Waukegan requires landscape waste such as grass clippings, leaves and garden trimmings to go out in biodegradable Kraft bags or a marked 10- to 30-gallon container with a yard waste…

Waukegan bans scavenging through any trash or recycling container and separately makes it a crime to take recyclables from a curbside bin or the public works recycling center without…

Every Waukegan property owner, occupant or lessee must keep the premises free of accumulated solid waste and lawfully dispose of anything not properly containerized, under City Code §…

Dumping, littering, or depositing any solid waste on Waukegan streets, alleys, sidewalks, beaches, public property, ravines, or private premises is banned outright under City Code §…

Waukegan levies a 6 percent occupancy tax on hotel, motel and short-term rental rooms rented for less than 30 consecutive days. The renter pays the tax; the owner or host collects and…

Waukegan requires illuminated billboards to be shielded whenever necessary so they don't cast bright light onto residential property or the public right-of-way. The rule sits inside…

Waukegan's Unified Development Ordinance requires every new or replacement outdoor light fixture to be full cut-off or fully shielded and bars glare or light trespass onto neighboring…

Every new or replacement outdoor light fixture in Waukegan must be full cut-off or fully shielded. Fixtures within 20 feet of a residential property line must be aimed inward and…

Waukegan's Property Maintenance Code does not mandate whole-building sprinklers in existing homes, but § 704.2 requires residential sprinkler heads above any boiler or hot water…

Waukegan bars anyone but the installer from running new, relocated, or altered elevator equipment until the city building official inspects and tests it and issues a certificate of…

Waukegan confines day care centers, as opposed to small home day cares, to certain commercial and industrial zoning districts and only after a conditional use permit is granted, with…

Waukegan enforces plumbing work under the Illinois Plumbing Code (77 Ill. Admin. Code Part 890, 2014), adopted wholesale by Sec. 6-216, meaning every plumbing permit, fixture standard…

Waukegan enforces the 2021 International Building Code for all construction, and the Building Department alone decides what work is exempt from a permit. Approved permits run 12…

Waukegan wires every building to the 2020 National Electrical Code, adopted by reference at City Code § 6-71 and locally amended at § 6-72. Electrical work needs a permit through the…

Waukegan adopts the 2021 International Residential Code and rewrites its carbon monoxide alarm section, R315.1, to require alarms that meet Illinois State Fire Marshal rules and carry…

Waukegan's Property Maintenance and Housing Code flatly bans exterior-only door locks. Under amended § 304.15, any lock that can be secured from outside a unit but cannot be released…

Unincorporated Lake County follows the 2024 ICC codes for building inspections, with the Planning, Building and Development Department renaming the code's foundation inspection to a…

Lake County Code § 94.06(C) makes it a public nuisance for a property owner to skip a Health Officer-ordered lead hazard mitigation or block the Health Officer's lead risk assessment…

Waukegan runs automated red light cameras at posted intersections under City Code Sec. 21-59.1. A vehicle owner who enters against a red signal faces a $100 civil fine, reviewed first…

Waukegan cyclists on a roadway below traffic speed must hug the right-hand curb except when passing, turning, or dodging hazards, and Sec. 5-67 requires riders to use an adjacent bike…

Illinois runs two different regimes and the answer depends entirely on which vehicle you own. A golf cart is a non-highway vehicle under 625 ILCS 5/11-1426.1, and driving one on any…

Waukegan bars flying a drone over any 'open air assembly unit' without the property owner's consent under City Code Sec. 15-141(b)(10). The ordinance defines that term to include…

Waukegan limits small unmanned aircraft, including hobby drones, to recreational use only under City Code Sec. 15-141(b)(1), with a 400-foot altitude ceiling, a visual-line-of-sight…

Waukegan requires the property owner's consent before flying a drone over any public or private park under City Code Sec. 15-141(b)(10). The same subsection extends the consent rule to…

Waukegan caps standby generator noise at 75 decibels measured at the property line after screening, and requires the unit sit in the interior side or rear yard behind screening 1.5…

Waukegan bans erecting or leaving any building, fence, porch, steps, gallery or other obstruction on a street, sidewalk or public ground. Sec. 18-1 gives the owner up to 20 days after…

Waukegan requires a permit from the city council before anyone sets up a stand, rack, showcase or other structure for selling goods on a public sidewalk or street. Sec. 18-2 also bars…

In Waukegan, the sidewalk repair job falls on the property owner, not the city. Sec. 18-114 requires every owner whose property abuts a plaza, street or alley to keep the adjoining…

Waukegan does not write its own stormwater code. Sec. 18-10 adopts the Lake County Watershed Development Ordinance by reference, as most recently amended by the county on July 11…

Waukegan sets its regulatory flood protection elevation 2.5 feet above the mapped high-water profile, and Sec. 6-131 carries that same 2.5-foot freeboard into construction rules…

Waukegan regulates grading, subdivision, and construction in its mapped floodplains through Sec. 6-92, layering flood-control requirements on top of the city's subdivision, zoning, and…

Unincorporated Lake County requires soil erosion and sediment control measures on any regulated land disturbance, with specific stabilization timelines and sediment-trapping standards…

In unincorporated Lake County, boat docks and piers are a listed allowed use in the regulatory floodplain if the underlying zoning district permits them, and they're exempt from the…

In unincorporated Lake County's Coastal High Hazard Area along Lake Michigan, new construction and substantial improvements must be elevated on pilings or columns above the base flood…

Waukegan bars every licensed cannabis business, from dispensaries to cultivation centers, from locating within 1,000 feet of housing, schools, colleges, libraries, parks, or childcare…

Waukegan has not opted out of cannabis sales: Table 9.02-1 permits a Cannabis Dispensary as a conditional use in the B3, B4, R/LI, and L2 Districts, but UDO Sec. 9.02.B.5 keeps every…

Illinois law permits home cannabis cultivation only by registered medical patients, capped at five plants per household, and preempts local bans or expansions of recreational home grow.

Waukegan's zoning table permits Agricultural Use by right only in the CR district; every other district, including all five residential districts, is left blank, meaning farming is not…

The Farm Nuisance Suit Act shields established Illinois farms from nuisance lawsuits when the operation predates surrounding non-agricultural land uses by at least one year.

Waukegan has no sign category labeled 'political signs'; it regulates yard signs about candidates and issues under its Non-Commercial Messaging Signs exemption, capping them at 6…

Waukegan allows electronic message center signs only on lots with at least 200 feet of frontage and 1.5 acres, capped at 40 square feet or half the sign face. Brightness cannot exceed…

Garage and yard sale signs in Waukegan must follow the City's yard sign standard: a maximum of eight square feet in residential districts, set back at least four feet from the…

Waukegan caps window signage at 20 percent of the glass it's displayed on, counting every accessory sign in that window toward the limit. Window signs also cannot block entryways or…

Unincorporated Lake County exempts holiday lights and decorations from sign permitting, but only if displayed no more than 60 days per year.

Waukegan's Historic Preservation Commission can formally recognize buildings, structures, or areas as 'Historically Significant Properties' for their cultural or architectural…

Waukegan's Unified Development Ordinance imposes downtown-specific design rules on signs: materials are limited to painted wood, stained brick, glass and metal, internally lit cabinet…

Waukegan's Unified Development Ordinance grants a real density bonus through conservation and cluster subdivision design: lot sizes in the R2 District can shrink up to 50 percent and…

Waukegan's Table 8.10-1 sets minimum yard setbacks by residential district: R1 requires a 40-60 foot front yard and 40-75 foot rear yard, while the densest R5 district allows setbacks…

Waukegan limits every accessory structure, alone or combined with other impervious ground cover, to 40 percent of any yard on the lot, and the aggregate area of all accessory…

Waukegan caps principal residential building height at 45 feet in the R1, R2 and R3 Districts, rising to 60 feet in R4 and 80 feet in R5, per Table 8.10-1. Commercial districts run…

Waukegan enforces a tiered nighttime curfew for anyone under 18 under City Code Sec. 15-16. Kids under 14 must be off public streets between 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., 14- and…

Waukegan lets any property owner, occupant, or city official report graffiti under City Code § 6-520. Requests for abatement can be filed electronically, on a city-provided form, or by…

Lake County's public nuisance code lists the violations code enforcement cites most: storing junk or debris, letting grass or weeds exceed 10 inches in platted subdivisions, and…

Waukegan's Property Maintenance Code targets rodent breeding directly: § 308.1 requires every exterior and interior area to stay free of litter, rubbish, and garbage that lets rats…

Waukegan requires food vendors at a permitted special event to prove food safety training before they can sell anything. Sec. 15-180(10) says vendor registration, filed at least 15…

Waukegan limits garage and yard sales to three consecutive days, up to three times per calendar year, running only from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Only residential properties qualify, and…

Rooftop and ground-mounted accessory solar energy systems need a Building Permit in every Waukegan zoning district under Table 9.03-1, and before that permit issues the homeowner must…

Illinois voids any association bylaw, board action, deed restriction or covenant that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting a solar energy system, under 765 ILCS 165/15 and 765…

Filming a movie, TV show, commercial, or documentary on a Lake County highway that requires closing the road needs a special event permit from the County Engineer, the same permit used…

Closing a county highway in Lake County for filming requires a special event permit issued by the County Engineer, who may authorize temporary closure of any portion of the road for…

Lake County's Unified Development Ordinance excludes tree of heaven from woodland and tree protection: developers don't have to preserve or replace Ailanthus altissima when calculating…

Lake County's Unified Development Ordinance requires developers to remove buckthorn, purple loosestrife, honeysuckle, garlic mustard, reed canary grass and other invasive species from…

The Paid Leave for All Workers Act guarantees up to 40 hours of paid leave annually for nearly every Illinois employee, with limited carve-outs for jurisdictions with existing…

Illinois issues shall-issue concealed carry licenses through the Illinois State Police under the Firearm Concealed Carry Act, with statewide preemption of local handgun carry rules.

Illinois preempts most local firearm regulation under the FOID Card Act and Wildlife Code, leaving home rule cities limited authority over assault weapons and certain narrow areas.

Illinois bans open carry of firearms in public under the Criminal Code, allowing concealed carry only by Firearm Concealed Carry Act licensees with limited exceptions.

Illinois law sets uniform rules for transporting firearms in vehicles under the FOID Card Act and Firearm Concealed Carry Act, preempting local handgun transport ordinances.

Illinois doesn't let cities zone in casinos on their own: the Illinois Gambling Act (230 ILCS 10/7) hands out a fixed number of state owners licenses, each tied by statute to one named…

Illinois nonprofits need a Department of Revenue license before running charitable games, capped at 4 days a year, with single bets at house-banked games limited to $20 and cash…

Illinois law makes it a crime to play any game of chance or skill for money unless the activity fits one of fifteen narrow exemptions listed in 720 ILCS 5/28-1(b): the state lottery…

Illinois legalized sports betting under the Sports Wagering Act, but only through an operator holding a Board-issued master sports wagering license. The Illinois Gaming Board licenses…

The Common Interest Community Association Act (765 ILCS 160) governs Illinois HOA budgets and assessments but, unlike the Condominium Property Act, it creates no statutory assessment…

Illinois gives association members open meetings and a records right, but the deadlines and the cost rules differ depending on which Act governs your association. A condominium owner…

Illinois HOAs enforce their declaration, bylaws, and rules under the Common Interest Community Association Act. Rule violations are pursued through the 765 ILCS 160/1-30(g) fine power…

Illinois protects native plantings, not xeriscape and not artificial turf. The Homeowners' Native Landscaping Act, 765 ILCS 167, effective July 19, 2024, bars an association from…

Since January 1, 2024 the Illinois Electric Vehicle Charging Act has voided any covenant, deed restriction or governing-document provision that prohibits or unreasonably restricts…

An Illinois association board may not prohibit a unit owner from displaying the American flag or a military flag on the owner's limited common elements or on the immediately adjacent…

Illinois puts no dollar limit on association fines. Both statutes say only that the board may levy reasonable fines, and neither sets a maximum, a daily cap or a cure period. What…

Unpaid assessments on an Illinois condominium unit become a statutory lien under 765 ILCS 605/9(g)(1), and once the board of managers records notice of that lien it may foreclose it in…

Illinois runs the opposite way from states that protect owners who rent. There is no statutory cap on how much leasing an Illinois association may prohibit, no minimum lease term, no…

Illinois holds roadside safety checks, but the General Assembly never wrote a statute authorising or regulating them. The Illinois Vehicle Code mentions checkpoints exactly once, in a…

Illinois writes the right to film police directly into its eavesdropping statute. 720 ILCS 5/14-2(e) says nothing in the eavesdropping article prohibits any individual who is not a law…

Illinois gives officers a demand power without giving them a penalty to back it. Under 725 ILCS 5/107-14(a) a peace officer who has identified himself as such may stop a person in a…

Illinois has no statute that requires an officer to warn you that you may refuse a vehicle search, but it does require the officer to write the request down. 625 ILCS 5/11-212 makes…

Illinois prohibits sale of any tobacco, alternative nicotine, and electronic cigarette product to persons under 21 under the Prevention of Tobacco Use by Persons under 21 Act.

Illinois runs a closed list for vehicle lighting. Under 625 ILCS 5/12-212(c), all lighting on a vehicle other than what the Vehicle Code expressly authorises is prohibited, so the…

Illinois never lists permitted windshield zones for a dash cam the way Florida and Texas do. It applies a materiality test instead: 625 ILCS 5/12-503(c-5) prohibits driving with…

Lane splitting is not lawful in Illinois. The Vehicle Code never uses the phrase, but 625 ILCS 5/11-703(c) makes the maneuver itself unlawful: a two-wheeled vehicle passing on the left…

Illinois does not ask whether a plate cover obscures the plate. 625 ILCS 5/3-413(g) makes it unlawful to operate any motor vehicle equipped with a registration plate cover, full stop…

A radar detector is legal in an ordinary Illinois passenger car. The only detector ban in the Illinois Vehicle Code, 625 ILCS 5/12-714, reaches a driver who operates or is in actual…

Illinois gets lake-effect snow and still bans studded tires outright. Section 12-401 of the Illinois Vehicle Code forbids operating a vehicle on an improved highway if any road wheel…

Illinois bans tinted film on the front windshield except a nonreflective strip running no more than 6 inches down from the top, and bars any window treatment on the windows immediately…