Illinois Compiled Statutes
225 ILCS 440/1 (2026)
The General Assembly finds and declares that the erection and maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays, and devices in areas adjacent to Interstate highways and primary highways should be regulated in order to protect the public investment in such highways, to promote the recreational value of public travel, to preserve natural beauty and to promote the reasonable, orderly and effective display of such signs, displays and devices
✓ current as of May 2026
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(225 ILCS 440/1)
(from Ch. 121, par. 501)
Sec. 1.
The General Assembly finds and declares that the erection and
maintenance of outdoor advertising signs, displays, and devices in areas
adjacent to Interstate highways and primary highways should be regulated in
order to protect the public investment in such highways, to promote the
recreational value of public travel, to preserve natural beauty and to
promote the reasonable, orderly and effective display of such signs,
displays and devices.
The General Assembly further finds and declares that outdoor advertising
is a legitimate, commercial use of private property adjacent to roads and
highways; that outdoor advertising is an integral part of the business and
marketing function, and an established segment of the national economy
which serves to promote and protect private investments in commerce and
industry and should be allowed to operate in business areas; and that the
regulatory standards set forth in Section 6 of this Act are consistent with
customary use in this State and will properly and adequately carry out each
and all of the purposes of this Act, more severe restrictions being
inconsistent with customary use and ineffective to accomplish the purposes
of this Act.
(Source: P.A. 77-1815.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 12
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1994–2021 · leading case: Outcom, Inc. v. Illinois Dep't of Transp., 909 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. 2009).
Outcom, Inc. v. Illinois Dep't of Transp., 909 N.E.2d 806 (Ill. 2009). “IDOT denied plaintiff’s permit applications, concluding that plaintiff had failed to demonstrate that the proposed billboard site was continuously used for commercial or industrial activities since September 21, 1959, as required by the Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971…”
T & S SIGNS, INC. v. Vill. of Wadsworth, 634 N.E.2d 306 (Ill. App. Ct. 1994). “The issue on appeal is whether the Village, a non-home-rule municipality, may enact more stringent regulations in the area of outdoor advertising than those provided by the Illinois Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (Act) (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 1992)). For the…”
Lamar Whiteco Outdoor Corp. v. City of West Chicago, 823 N.E.2d 610 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “Count I mentions the Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 2002)) in passing but does not cite a provision under which relief could be granted.”
WC Media, Inc. v. Vill. of Gilberts, 2020 IL App (2d) 190250 (Ill. App. Ct. 2020). “, asks us to decide whether an amended sign ordinance of defendant, the Village of Gilberts (Village), is preempted by the Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (Act) (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 2018)). 1 The trial court dismissed with prejudice plaintiff’s second amended…”
Hawthorne v. Vill. of Olympia Fields, 765 N.E.2d 475 (Ill. App. Ct. 2002). “There, the court held that the Illinois Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 1992)) did not preempt the regulation of outdoor advertising by a non-home-rule municipality.”
Dusty's Outdoor Media, LLC v. Dep't of Transp., 2019 IL App (5th) 180269 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “OPINION ¶1 This appeal involves a highway billboard that was erected prior to the effective date of the Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (Act) (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 2010)). New signs may not be erected without complying with the requirements of the Act.”
Bond Kildeer Marketplace v. CBS Outdoor, 2012 IL App (2d) 111292 (Ill. App. Ct. 2012). “¶2 Scadron obtained a permit for the billboard from the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) in 1989, pursuant to the Illinois Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (Highway Ad Act) (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 2010)). Scadron transferred ownership of the billboard to…”
Image Media Advert., Inc. v. Illinois Dep't of Transp., 2021 IL App (1st) 200830-U (Ill. App. Ct. 2021). “1-20-0830 (Advertising Control Act) (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 2020)) and that the plaintiff was not entitled to the renewal or transfer of a previously-issued permit to erect a sign on the building’s wall.”
Outcom, Inc. v. Dep't of Transp., 882 N.E.2d 696 (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). “The issuance of permits for outdoor advertising signs is governed by the Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (the Act) (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 2004)), which provides in pertinent part that signs may be erected along interstate highways only in a “business area.”
Shout Outdoor Media, LLC v. Dep't of Transp., 2019 IL App (1st) 182522 (Ill. App. Ct. 2019). “225 ILCS 440/1 (West 2016). With exceptions not relevant here, anyone who wishes to erect such a sign must first obtain a permit from IDOT (id.”
Outcom, Inc. v. Dep't of Transp. (Ill. App. Ct. 2008). “The issuance of permits for outdoor advertising signs is governed by the Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (the Act) (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq. (West 2004)), which provides in pertinent part that signs may be erected along interstate highways only in a "business area.”
Lamar Whiteco Outdoor Corp. v. City of West Chicago (Ill. App. Ct. 2005). “Count I mentions the Highway Advertising Control Act of 1971 (225 ILCS 440/1 et seq . (West 2002)) in passing but does not cite a provision under which relief could be granted.”
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