103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB2794

 

Introduced 1/17/2024, by Sen. Michael W. Halpin

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
520 ILCS 5/2.33

    Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that it is unlawful for any person who is within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling, to hunt with gun or dog, allow a dog to hunt, or discharge a firearm without first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant of the dwelling, except that a 100-yard restriction, rather than a 300-yard restriction, shall apply (i) while on the land of another person as an invitee with that person's permission, (ii) while trapping, hunting with dog and shotgun using shot shells only, hunting with shotgun using shot shells only, or providing outfitting services under a waterfowl outfitter permit, or (iii) while on licensed game breeding and hunting preserve areas, federally owned and managed lands, or Department owned, managed, leased, or controlled lands.


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A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning wildlife.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing
5Section 2.33 as follows:
 
6    (520 ILCS 5/2.33)
7    Sec. 2.33. Prohibitions.
8    (a) It is unlawful to carry or possess any gun in any State
9refuge unless otherwise permitted by administrative rule.
10    (b) It is unlawful to use or possess any snare or
11snare-like device, deadfall, net, or pit trap to take any
12species, except that snares not powered by springs or other
13mechanical devices may be used to trap fur-bearing mammals, in
14water sets only, if at least one-half of the snare noose is
15located underwater at all times.
16    (c) It is unlawful for any person at any time to take a
17wild mammal protected by this Act from its den by means of any
18mechanical device, spade, or digging device or to use smoke or
19other gases to dislodge or remove such mammal except as
20provided in Section 2.37.
21    (d) It is unlawful to use a ferret or any other small
22mammal which is used in the same or similar manner for which
23ferrets are used for the purpose of frightening or driving any

 

 

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1mammals from their dens or hiding places.
2    (e) (Blank).
3    (f) It is unlawful to use spears, gigs, hooks, or any like
4device to take any species protected by this Act.
5    (g) It is unlawful to use poisons, chemicals, or
6explosives for the purpose of taking any species protected by
7this Act.
8    (h) It is unlawful to hunt adjacent to or near any peat,
9grass, brush, or other inflammable substance when it is
10burning.
11    (i) It is unlawful to take, pursue or intentionally harass
12or disturb in any manner any wild birds or mammals by use or
13aid of any vehicle, conveyance, or unmanned aircraft as
14defined by the Illinois Aeronautics Act, except as permitted
15by the Code of Federal Regulations for the taking of
16waterfowl; except that nothing in this subsection shall
17prohibit the use of unmanned aircraft in the inspection of a
18public utility facility, tower, or structure or a mobile
19service facility, tower, or structure by a public utility, as
20defined in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act, or a
21provider of mobile services as defined in Section 153 of Title
2247 of the United States Code. It is also unlawful to use the
23lights of any vehicle or conveyance, any light connected to
24any vehicle or conveyance, or any other lighting device or
25mechanism from inside or on a vehicle or conveyance in any area
26where wildlife may be found except in accordance with Section

 

 

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12.37 of this Act; however, nothing in this Section shall
2prohibit the normal use of headlamps for the purpose of
3driving upon a roadway. For purposes of this Section, any
4other lighting device or mechanism shall include, but not be
5limited to, any device that uses infrared or other light not
6visible to the naked eye, electronic image intensification,
7active illumination, thermal imaging, or night vision. Striped
8skunk, opossum, red fox, gray fox, raccoon, bobcat, and coyote
9may be taken during the open season by use of a small light
10which is worn on the body or hand-held by a person on foot and
11not in any vehicle.
12    (j) It is unlawful to use any shotgun larger than 10 gauge
13while taking or attempting to take any of the species
14protected by this Act.
15    (k) It is unlawful to use or possess in the field any
16shotgun shell loaded with a shot size larger than lead BB or
17steel T (.20 diameter) when taking or attempting to take any
18species of wild game mammals (excluding white-tailed deer),
19wild game birds, migratory waterfowl or migratory game birds
20protected by this Act, except white-tailed deer as provided
21for in Section 2.26 and other species as provided for by
22subsection (l) or administrative rule.
23    (l) It is unlawful to take any species of wild game, except
24white-tailed deer and fur-bearing mammals, with a shotgun
25loaded with slugs unless otherwise provided for by
26administrative rule.

 

 

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1    (m) It is unlawful to use any shotgun capable of holding
2more than 3 shells in the magazine or chamber combined, except
3on game breeding and hunting preserve areas licensed under
4Section 3.27 and except as permitted by the Code of Federal
5Regulations for the taking of waterfowl. If the shotgun is
6capable of holding more than 3 shells, it shall, while being
7used on an area other than a game breeding and shooting
8preserve area licensed pursuant to Section 3.27, be fitted
9with a one-piece plug that is irremovable without dismantling
10the shotgun or otherwise altered to render it incapable of
11holding more than 3 shells in the magazine and chamber,
12combined.
13    (n) It is unlawful for any person, except persons who
14possess a permit to hunt from a vehicle as provided in this
15Section and persons otherwise permitted by law, to have or
16carry any gun in or on any vehicle, conveyance, or aircraft,
17unless such gun is unloaded and enclosed in a case, except that
18at field trials authorized by Section 2.34 of this Act,
19unloaded guns or guns loaded with blank cartridges only may be
20carried on horseback while not contained in a case, or to have
21or carry any bow or arrow device in or on any vehicle unless
22such bow or arrow device is unstrung or enclosed in a case, or
23otherwise made inoperable unless in accordance with the
24Firearm Concealed Carry Act.
25    (o) (Blank).
26    (p) It is unlawful to take game birds, migratory game

 

 

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1birds or migratory waterfowl with a rifle, pistol, revolver,
2or air rifle.
3    (q) It is unlawful to fire a rifle, pistol, revolver, or
4air rifle on, over, or into any waters of this State, including
5frozen waters.
6    (r) It is unlawful to discharge any gun or bow and arrow
7device along, upon, across, or from any public right-of-way or
8highway in this State.
9    (s) It is unlawful to use a silencer or other device to
10muffle or mute the sound of the explosion or report resulting
11from the firing of any gun.
12    (t) It is unlawful for any person to take or attempt to
13take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, or allow a dog
14to hunt, within or upon the land of another, or upon waters
15flowing over or standing on the land of another, or to
16knowingly shoot a gun or bow and arrow device at any wildlife
17physically on or flying over the property of another without
18first obtaining permission from the owner or the owner's
19designee. For the purposes of this Section, the owner's
20designee means anyone who the owner designates in a written
21authorization and the authorization must contain (i) the legal
22or common description of property for which such authority is
23given, (ii) the extent that the owner's designee is authorized
24to make decisions regarding who is allowed to take or attempt
25to take any species of wildlife or parts thereof, and (iii) the
26owner's notarized signature. Before enforcing this Section,

 

 

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1the law enforcement officer must have received notice from the
2owner or the owner's designee of a violation of this Section.
3Statements made to the law enforcement officer regarding this
4notice shall not be rendered inadmissible by the hearsay rule
5when offered for the purpose of showing the required notice.
6    (u) It is unlawful for any person who is within 300 yards
7of an inhabited dwelling to discharge any firearm for the
8purpose of taking any of the species protected by this Act, or
9hunt with gun or dog, or allow a dog to hunt, or discharge a
10firearm within 300 yards of an inhabited dwelling without
11first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant of the
12dwelling, except that a 100-yard restriction, rather than a
13300-yard restriction, shall apply (i) while on the land of
14another person as an invitee with that person's permission,
15(ii) while trapping, hunting with bow and arrow, hunting with
16dog and shotgun using shot shells only, or hunting with
17shotgun using shot shells only, or providing outfitting
18services under a waterfowl outfitter permit, or (iii) while on
19licensed game breeding and hunting preserve areas, as defined
20in Section 3.27, on federally owned and managed lands, or and
21on Department owned, managed, leased, or controlled lands, a
22100 yard restriction shall apply.
23    (v) It is unlawful for any person to remove fur-bearing
24mammals from, or to move or disturb in any manner, the traps
25owned by another person without written authorization of the
26owner to do so.

 

 

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1    (w) It is unlawful for any owner of a dog to allow his or
2her dog to pursue, harass, or kill deer, except that nothing in
3this Section shall prohibit the tracking of wounded deer with
4a dog in accordance with the provisions of Section 2.26 of this
5Code.
6    (x) It is unlawful for any person to wantonly or
7carelessly injure or destroy, in any manner whatsoever, any
8real or personal property on the land of another while engaged
9in hunting or trapping thereon.
10    (y) It is unlawful to hunt wild game protected by this Act
11between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before
12sunrise, except that hunting hours between one-half hour after
13sunset and one-half hour before sunrise may be established by
14administrative rule for fur-bearing mammals.
15    (z) It is unlawful to take any game bird (excluding wild
16turkeys and crippled pheasants not capable of normal flight
17and otherwise irretrievable) protected by this Act when not
18flying. Nothing in this Section shall prohibit a person from
19carrying an uncased, unloaded shotgun in a boat, while in
20pursuit of a crippled migratory waterfowl that is incapable of
21normal flight, for the purpose of attempting to reduce the
22migratory waterfowl to possession, provided that the attempt
23is made immediately upon downing the migratory waterfowl and
24is done within 400 yards of the blind from which the migratory
25waterfowl was downed. This exception shall apply only to
26migratory game birds that are not capable of normal flight.

 

 

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1Migratory waterfowl that are crippled may be taken only with a
2shotgun as regulated by subsection (j) of this Section using
3shotgun shells as regulated in subsection (k) of this Section.
4    (aa) It is unlawful to use or possess any device that may
5be used for tree climbing or cutting while hunting fur-bearing
6mammals, excluding coyotes. However, coyotes may not be hunted
7utilizing these devices during open season for deer except by
8properly licensed deer hunters.
9    (bb) It is unlawful for any person, except licensed game
10breeders, pursuant to Section 2.29 to import, carry into, or
11possess alive in this State any species of wildlife taken
12outside of this State, without obtaining permission to do so
13from the Director.
14    (cc) It is unlawful for any person to have in his or her
15possession any freshly killed species protected by this Act
16during the season closed for taking.
17    (dd) It is unlawful to take any species protected by this
18Act and retain it alive except as provided by administrative
19rule.
20    (ee) It is unlawful to possess any rifle while in the field
21during gun deer season except as provided in Sections 2.25 and
222.26 and administrative rules.
23    (ff) It is unlawful for any person to take any species
24protected by this Act, except migratory waterfowl, during the
25gun deer hunting season in those counties open to gun deer
26hunting, unless he or she wears, when in the field, a cap and

 

 

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1upper outer garment of a solid blaze orange color or solid
2blaze pink color, with such articles of clothing displaying a
3minimum of 400 square inches of blaze orange or solid blaze
4pink color material.
5    (gg) It is unlawful during the upland game season for any
6person to take upland game with a firearm unless he or she
7wears, while in the field, a cap of solid blaze orange color or
8solid blaze pink color. For purposes of this Act, upland game
9is defined as Bobwhite Quail, Hungarian Partridge, Ring-necked
10Pheasant, Eastern Cottontail, and Swamp Rabbit.
11    (hh) It shall be unlawful to kill or cripple any species
12protected by this Act for which there is a bag limit without
13making a reasonable effort to retrieve such species and
14include such in the bag limit. It shall be unlawful for any
15person having control over harvested game mammals, game birds,
16or migratory game birds for which there is a bag limit to
17wantonly waste or destroy the usable meat of the game, except
18this shall not apply to wildlife taken under Sections 2.37 or
193.22 of this Code. For purposes of this subsection, "usable
20meat" means the breast meat of a game bird or migratory game
21bird and the hind ham and front shoulders of a game mammal. It
22shall be unlawful for any person to place, leave, dump, or
23abandon a wildlife carcass or parts of it along or upon a
24public right-of-way or highway or on public or private
25property, including a waterway or stream, without the
26permission of the owner or tenant. It shall not be unlawful to

 

 

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1discard game meat that is determined to be unfit for human
2consumption.
3    (ii) This Section shall apply only to those species
4protected by this Act taken within the State. Any species or
5any parts thereof, legally taken in and transported from other
6states or countries, may be possessed within the State, except
7as provided in this Section and Sections 2.35, 2.36, and 3.21.
8    (jj) (Blank).
9    (kk) Nothing contained in this Section shall prohibit the
10Director from issuing permits to paraplegics or to other
11persons with disabilities who meet the requirements set forth
12in administrative rule to shoot or hunt from a vehicle as
13provided by that rule, provided that such is otherwise in
14accord with this Act.
15    (ll) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the
16taking of aquatic life protected by the Fish and Aquatic Life
17Code or birds and mammals protected by this Act, except deer
18and fur-bearing mammals, from a boat not camouflaged or
19disguised to alter its identity or to further provide a place
20of concealment and not propelled by sail or mechanical power.
21However, only shotguns not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller
22than .410 bore loaded with not more than 3 shells of a shot
23size no larger than lead BB or steel T (.20 diameter) may be
24used to take species protected by this Act.
25    (mm) Nothing contained in this Act shall prohibit the use
26of a shotgun, not larger than 10 gauge nor smaller than a 20

 

 

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1gauge, with a rifled barrel.
2    (nn) It shall be unlawful to possess any species of
3wildlife or wildlife parts taken unlawfully in Illinois, any
4other state, or any other country, whether or not the wildlife
5or wildlife parts are indigenous to Illinois. For the purposes
6of this subsection, the statute of limitations for unlawful
7possession of wildlife or wildlife parts shall not cease until
82 years after the possession has permanently ended.
9    (oo) It is unlawful while deer hunting:
10        (1) to possess or be in close proximity to a rifle that
11    is not centerfire; or
12        (2) to be in possession of or in close proximity to a
13    magazine that is capable of making a rifle not a single
14    shot.
15(Source: P.A. 102-237, eff. 1-1-22; 102-837, eff. 5-13-22;
16102-932, eff. 1-1-23; 103-154, eff. 6-30-23.)