Bill Text: IL SB0710 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Amends the Wildlife Code. Provides that the Department of Natural Resources shall adopt rules that allow landowners to have other individuals destroy deer responsible for damage under permits issued to that landowner. Provides that landowner deer and turkey permits shall be issued without charge to an Illinois resident that owns at least 40 acres of Illinois land and that wishes to hunt only on the land that Illinois resident owns. Provides that tenant deer and turkey permits shall be issued without charge to Illinois resident tenants of at least 40 acres of commercial agricultural land that wish to hunt only on the land of which they are resident tenants. Sets forth provisions concerning documentation requirements; guest permits; and administrative rules. Defines terms. Makes conforming changes. Effective January 1, 2026, except that specified provisions are effective January 1, 2027.

Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2025-08-15 - Public Act . . . . . . . . . 104-0361 [SB0710 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-SB0710-Enrolled.html

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AN ACT concerning regulation.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Wildlife Code is amended by changing
Sections 2.26, 2.37, and 3.1-6 as follows:
(520 ILCS 5/2.26) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.26)
Sec. 2.26. Deer hunting permits. Any person attempting to
take deer shall first obtain a "Deer Hunting Permit" issued by
the Department in accordance with its administrative rules.
Those rules must provide for the issuance of the following
types of resident deer archery permits: (i) a combination
permit, consisting of one either-sex permit and one
antlerless-only permit, (ii) a single antlerless-only permit,
and (iii) a single either-sex permit. The fee for a Deer
Hunting Permit to take deer with either bow and arrow or gun
shall not exceed $25 for residents of the State. The
Department may by administrative rule provide for non-resident
deer hunting permits for which the fee will not exceed $300 in
2005, $350 in 2006, and $400 in 2007 and thereafter except as
provided below for non-resident landowners and non-resident
archery hunters. The Department may by administrative rule
provide for a non-resident archery deer permit consisting of
not more than 2 harvest tags at a total cost not to exceed $325

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in 2005, $375 in 2006, and $425 in 2007 and thereafter. The
fees for a youth resident and non-resident archery deer permit
shall be the same.
The Department shall create a pilot program during the
special 3-day, youth-only deer hunting season to allow for
youth deer hunting permits that are valid statewide, excluding
those counties or portions of counties closed to firearm deer
hunting. The Department shall adopt rules to implement the
pilot program. Hunters qualifying to participate in a
youth-only deer season shall be eligible for one either-sex
permit and one antlerless-only permit. Nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to prohibit the Department from
issuing Special Hunt Area Permits for the youth-only deer
hunting season or establishing, through administrative rule,
additional requirements pertaining to the youth-only deer
hunting season on Department-owned or Department-managed
sites, including site-specific quotas or drawings. The
provisions of this paragraph are inoperative on and after
January 1, 2023.
The standards and specifications for use of guns and bow
and arrow for deer hunting shall be established by
administrative rule.
No person may have in his or her possession any firearm not
authorized by administrative rule for a specific hunting
season when taking deer unless in accordance with the Firearm
Concealed Carry Act.

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Persons having a firearm deer hunting permit shall be
permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
days for which an open season is established for the taking of
deer by use of shotgun, handgun, rifle, or muzzle loading
rifle.
Persons having an archery deer hunting permit shall be
permitted to take deer only during the period from 1/2 hour
before sunrise to 1/2 hour after sunset, and only during those
days for which an open season is established for the taking of
deer by use of bow and arrow.
It shall be unlawful for any person to take deer by use of
dogs, horses, automobiles, aircraft, or other vehicles, or by
the use or aid of bait or baiting of any kind. For the purposes
of this Section, "bait" means any material, whether liquid or
solid, including food, salt, minerals, and other products,
except pure water, that can be ingested, placed, or scattered
in such a manner as to attract or lure white-tailed deer.
"Baiting" means the placement or scattering of bait to attract
deer. An area is considered as baited during the presence of
and for 10 consecutive days following the removal of bait.
Nothing in this Section shall prohibit the use of a dog to
track wounded deer. Any person using a dog for tracking
wounded deer must maintain physical control of the dog at all
times by means of a maximum 50-foot 50 foot lead attached to
the dog's collar or harness. Tracking wounded deer is

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permissible at night, but at no time outside of legal deer
hunting hours or seasons shall any person handling or
accompanying a dog being used for tracking wounded deer be in
possession of any firearm or archery device. Persons tracking
wounded deer with a dog during the firearm deer seasons shall
wear blaze orange or solid blaze pink color as required. Dog
handlers tracking wounded deer with a dog are exempt from
hunting license and deer permit requirements so long as they
are accompanied by the licensed deer hunter who wounded the
deer.
It shall be unlawful to possess or transport any wild deer
which has been injured or killed in any manner upon a public
highway or public right-of-way of this State unless exempted
by administrative rule.
Persons hunting deer must have the gun unloaded and no bow
and arrow device shall be carried with the arrow in the nocked
position during hours when deer hunting is unlawful.
It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the
legal limit of deer by gun, to further participate with a gun
in any deer hunting party.
It shall be unlawful for any person, having taken the
legal limit of deer by bow and arrow, to further participate
with bow and arrow in any deer hunting party.
The Department may prohibit upland game hunting during the
gun deer season by administrative rule.
The Department shall not limit the number of non-resident,

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either-sex archery deer hunting permits to less than 20,000.
Any person who violates any of the provisions of this
Section, including administrative rules, shall be guilty of a
Class B misdemeanor.
For the purposes of calculating acreage under this
Section, the Department shall, after determining the total
acreage of the applicable tract or tracts of land, round
remaining fractional portions of an acre greater than or equal
to half of an acre up to the next whole acre.
For the purposes of taking white-tailed deer, nothing in
this Section shall be construed to prevent the manipulation,
including mowing or cutting, of standing crops as a normal
agricultural or soil stabilization practice, food plots, or
normal agricultural practices, including planting, harvesting,
and maintenance such as cultivating or the use of products
designed for scent only and not capable of ingestion, solid or
liquid, placed or scattered, in such a manner as to attract or
lure deer. Such manipulation for the purpose of taking
white-tailed deer may be further modified by administrative
rule.
(Source: P.A. 101-81, eff. 7-12-19; 101-444, eff. 6-1-20;
102-237, eff. 1-1-22; 102-932, eff. 1-1-23; revised 10-23-24.)
(520 ILCS 5/2.37) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.37)
Sec. 2.37. Authority to kill wildlife responsible for
damage.

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(a) Subject to federal regulations and Section 3 of the
Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act, the Department may
authorize owners and tenants of lands or their agents, who are
performing the service without fee or compensation, to remove
or destroy any wild bird or wild mammal when the wild bird or
wild mammal is known to be destroying property or causing a
risk to human health or safety upon his or her land.
Upon receipt by the Department of information from the
owner, tenant, or sharecropper that any one or more species of
wildlife is damaging dams, levees, ditches, cattle pastures,
or other property on the land on which he resides or controls,
together with a statement regarding location of the property
damages, the nature and extent of the damage, and the
particular species of wildlife committing the damage, the
Department shall make an investigation.
If, after investigation, the Department finds that damage
or risk to human safety does exist and can be abated only by
removing or destroying that wildlife, a permit shall be issued
by the Department to remove or destroy the species responsible
for causing the damage.
A permit to control the damage shall be for a period set by
administrative rule of up to 90 days, shall specify the means
and methods by which and the person or persons by whom the
wildlife may be removed or destroyed, without fee or
compensation for the initial permits issued to a landowner or
tenant, and shall set forth the disposition procedure to be

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made of all wildlife taken and other restrictions the Director
considers necessary and appropriate in the circumstances of
the particular case. Whenever possible, the specimens
destroyed shall be given to a bona fide public or State
scientific, educational, or zoological institution.
The permittee shall advise the Department in writing, as
set by administrative rule within 10 days after the expiration
date of the permit, of the number of individual species of
wildlife taken, disposition made of them, and any other
information which the Department may consider necessary.
The Department shall adopt rules establishing: (i)
procedures and criteria for issuance; (ii) timeline for
issuance of permits; (iii) method of take; (iv) disposition of
remains; (v) reporting; (vi) evaluation of damage; (vii) cost;
(viii) suspension or revocation of permits; (ix) denial of
permits; and (x) renewal of permits issued under this Section.
The Department shall adopt rules that allow landowners to have
other individuals, that meet all requirements set forth in
this Act, destroy deer authorized under permits issued to that
landowner under this Section. The Department shall adopt rules
allowing the automatic issuance of additional antlerless-only
permits during the regular firearm or archery season of that
year if a landowner demonstrates proof of successfully
harvesting 50% of the permits issued from a permit issued
under this Section to destroy deer in that same calendar year.
The Department shall adopt rules allowing the automatic

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eligibility for additional permits to be issued in the
following calendar year for use between June 1 through
September 15 if a landowner demonstrates proof of harvesting
80% of the permits that were issued under this Section that
were issued to the landowner for the previous year's regular
firearm and archery deer hunting seasons.
(b) Subject to federal regulations and Section 3 of the
Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act, the Department may
grant the authority to control species protected by this Code
pursuant to the issuance of a Nuisance Wildlife Control Permit
to:
(1) any person who is providing such service or
solicits customers for themselves or on behalf of a
nuisance wildlife control permit holder for a fee or
compensation;
(2) a governmental body; or
(3) a nonprofit or other charitable organization.
The Department shall set forth applicable regulations in
an Administrative rule Order and may require periodic reports
listing species taken, numbers of each species taken, dates
when taken, and other pertinent information.
Any person operating under a Nuisance Wildlife Control
Permit who subcontracts the operation of nuisance wildlife
control to another shall ensure that such subcontractor
possesses a valid Nuisance Wildlife Control Permit issued by
the Department. The person must maintain a record of the

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subcontractor including the subcontractor's name, address, and
phone number, and type of work to be performed, for a period of
not less than 2 years from the date the subcontractor is no
longer performing services on behalf of the person. The
records shall be presented to an authorized employee of the
Department or law enforcement officer upon request for
inspection.
Any person operating without the required permit as
outlined under this subsection (b) or in violation of this
subsection (b) is deemed to be taking, attempting to take,
disturbing, or harassing wildlife contrary to the provisions
of this Code, including the taking or attempting to take such
species for commercial purposes as outlined in Sections 2.36
and 2.36a of this Code. Any devices and equipment, including
vehicles, used in violation of this subsection (b) may be
subject to the provisions of Section 1.25 of this Code.
Any person properly permitted and operating under the
provisions of this subsection is exempt from the provisions of
this Act except as limited by administrative rule adopted by
the Department.
(c) The location of traps or snares authorized under this
Section, either by the Department or any other governmental
body with the authority to control species protected by this
Code, shall be exempt from the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act.
(d) A drainage district or road district or the designee

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of a drainage district or road district shall be exempt from
the requirement to obtain a permit to control nuisance
muskrats or beavers if all applicable provisions for licenses
are complied with and any trap types and sizes used are in
compliance with this Code, including marking or
identification. The designee of a drainage district or road
district must have a signed and dated written authorization
from the drainage district or road district in possession at
all times when conducting activities under this Section. This
exemption from obtaining a permit shall be valid only upon
property owned, leased, or controlled by the drainage district
or road district. For the purposes of this Section, "road
district" includes a township road district.
(e) The Department shall make available on its website the
current and relevant information, criteria, and directions to
the public for permits issued under this Section.
(Source: P.A. 102-524, eff. 8-20-21; 103-37, eff. 6-9-23;
103-225, eff. 6-30-23; 103-605, eff. 7-1-24; 103-611, eff.
1-1-25.)
(520 ILCS 5/3.1-6)
Sec. 3.1-6. Landowner or tenant Special deer and , turkey,
and combination hunting permits licenses.
(a) For the purpose of this Section:
"Bona fide current income beneficiary" means an individual
who, at the time of application for a permit, is:

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(1) entitled to income, whether income exists or not,
from the trust that owns Illinois land on which the
applicant wishes to hunt with no condition precedent, such
as surviving another person or reaching a certain age,
other than the trustee distributing the income; and
(2) listed by name in the trust documents as an income
beneficiary.
"Bona fide equity member" means an individual who:
(1) (i) became a member upon the formation of the
limited liability company or (ii) has purchased a
distributional interest in a limited liability company for
a value equal to the percentage of the appraised value of
the LLC assets represented by the distributional interest
in the LLC and subsequently becomes a member of the
company under Article 30 of the Limited Liability Company
Act; and
(2) intends to retain the membership for at least 5
years.
"Bona fide equity partner" means an individual who:
(1) (i) became a partner, either general or limited,
upon the formation of a partnership or limited
partnership, or (ii) has purchased, acquired, or been
gifted a partnership interest accurately representing his
or her percentage distributional interest in the profits,
losses, and assets of a partnership or limited
partnership;

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(2) intends to retain ownership of the partnership
interest for at least 5 years; and
(3) is a resident of this State.
"Bona fide equity shareholder" means an individual who:
(1) purchased, for market price, publicly sold stock
shares in a corporation, purchased shares of a
privately-held corporation for a value equal to the
percentage of the appraised value of the corporate assets
represented by the ownership in the corporation, or is a
member of a closely-held family-owned corporation and has
purchased or been gifted with shares of stock in the
corporation accurately reflecting his or her percentage of
ownership; and
(2) intends to retain the ownership of the shares of
stock for at least 5 years.
"Current owners" means one or more bona fide landowners,
one or more bona fide current income beneficiaries, one or
more bona fide equity shareholders of a corporation, one or
more bona fide equity members of a limited liability company,
or one or more bona fide equity partners of a partnership that
all own the same 240 acres of Illinois land.
"Immediate family of a bona fide landowner, tenant, or a
bona fide current income beneficiary" means the spouse,
children, brothers, sisters, grandchildren, grandparents, and
parents permanently residing on the same property as the bona
fide landowner, tenant, or bona fide current income

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beneficiary.
"Tenant" means a person who rents 40 acres or more of
Illinois land for commercial agricultural purposes under a
written notarized agreement with the landowner.
(b) Landowner deer and turkey Deer, Turkey, and
combination permits shall be issued without charge to an
Illinois resident that owns at least 40 acres of Illinois land
and that wishes to hunt only on the land that Illinois resident
owns. Deer permits issued under this Section shall consist of
one either-sex permit and one antlerless-only permit for the
deer firearm season and one either-sex permit and one
antlerless-only permit for the archery deer season. Land
ownership shall only be accepted by the Department for:
(1) bona fide Illinois landowners residing in this
State who own at least 40 acres of Illinois land and wish
to hunt upon their land only;
(2) bona fide current income beneficiaries of a trust
in which the trust owns Illinois land resident tenants of
at least 40 acres of commercial agricultural land where
they will hunt; and
(3) bona fide equity shareholders of a corporation,
bona fide equity members of a limited liability company,
or bona fide equity partners of a general or limited
partnership which owns at least 40 acres of land in a
county in this State who wish to hunt on the
corporation's, company's, or partnership's land only. One

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permit shall be issued without charge to one bona fide
equity shareholder, one bona fide equity member, or one
bona fide equity partner for each 40 acres of land owned by
the corporation, company, or partnership in a county;
however, the number of permits issued without charge to
bona fide equity shareholders of any corporation or bona
fide equity members of a limited liability company in any
county shall not exceed 15, and shall not exceed 3 in the
case of bona fide equity partners of a partnership.
(b-5) Tenant deer and turkey permits shall be issued
without charge to Illinois resident tenants of at least 40
acres of commercial agricultural land that wish to hunt only
on the land of which they are resident tenants. Deer permits
issued under this Section shall consist of (i) one either-sex
permit and one antlerless-only permit for the deer firearm
season and (ii) one either-sex permit and one antlerless-only
permit for the archery deer season.
(b-10) The total number of deer or turkey permits that may
be issued to a person under this Section shall be established
by administrative rule.
(b-15) Bona fide landowners or tenants who do not wish to
hunt only on the land they own, tenants who do not wish to hunt
only on the land they rent, or lease, or bona fide equity
shareholders, bona fide equity members, bona fide current
income beneficiaries of a trust, or bona fide equity partners
who do not wish to hunt only on the land owned by the

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corporation, limited liability company, trust, or partnership
shall be charged the same fee as the applicant who is not a
bona fide landowner, Illinois resident tenant, bona fide
equity shareholder, bona fide equity member, bona fide current
income beneficiary of a trust, or bona fide equity partner.
Nonresidents of this State who own at least 40 acres of land as
a bona fide landowner, a bona fide current income beneficiary
of a trust, a bona fide equity shareholder, or a bona fide
equity member and wish to hunt on their land only shall be
charged a fee set by administrative rule. The method for
obtaining these permits shall be prescribed by administrative
rule.
(c) A deer or turkey The deer, turkey, or combination
hunting permit issued without fee shall be valid on all
Illinois farm lands which the person to whom it is issued owns,
including land owned by the individual as a bona fide
landowner, land owned as a bona fide equity shareholder of a
corporation, land owned by the individual as a bona fide
equity member of a limited liability company, and land owned
by the individual as a bona fide equity partner of a
partnership.
(d) Except for a person hunting under a permit issued
under subsection (e) or (f), while hunting under a permit
issued under this Section, a person must carry the permit and
documentation showing proof of that the person is a bona fide
landowner, a bona fide equity shareholder of a corporation, a

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bona fide equity member of a limited liability company, a bona
fide current income beneficiary, a bona fide equity partners
of a general or limited partnership, or a tenant. While
hunting under a permit issued under subsection (e) or (f), a
person must carry the permit and documentation showing that
the person is actively hunting on land covered by the permit.
(e) The Department may, by administrative rule, issue
permits under this Section to the immediate family of a bona
fide landowner, a bona fide current income beneficiary, or
tenant.
(f) For every 240 acres of Illinois land owned by the
current owners, the Department may issue one guest either-sex
deer permit and one guest antlerless-only deer permit. The
guest permits shall be for the same deer hunting season and for
the same method of take as issued to the current owner. A guest
permit shall be issued to an individual who is not a current
owner and is listed on the application for the issuance of
guest deer hunting permits by a current owner. An individual
designated by a current owner must meet all the eligibility
requirements to hunt under this Code and shall pay all fees
required under Section 2.26 for the permits issued, including
non-resident fees if that individual is a non-resident.
Permits issued under this subsection may not be offered for
resale by the landowner receiving the permit and are
nontransferable. No more than 5 individuals, regardless of
total number of 240 acres of Illinois land owned by the current

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owners, may be issued guest permits under this subsection.
(g) The Department may adopt rules to administer and
enforce this Section, including, but not limited to,
application requirements, proof of ownership requirements,
proof of residency requirements, eligibility requirements,
restrictions, and suspension and revocation of permits.
(h) No person shall be issued more than (i) one either-sex
permit and one antlerless-only permit for the deer firearm
season and (ii) one either-sex permit and one antlerless-only
permit for the deer archery season under this Section leases
or rents, except that in the case of a permit issued to a bona
fide equity shareholder, bona fide equity member, or bona fide
equity partner, the permit shall be valid on all lands owned by
the corporation, limited liability company, or partnership in
the county.
(Source: P.A. 99-869, eff. 1-1-17.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
January 1, 2026, except that the changes to Section 3.1-6 of
the Wildlife Code take effect on January 1, 2027.