Section 720.25  Turkey Permit Requirements – Landowner/Tenant Permits

a)         The "immediate family" is defined as the spouse, children, and parents permanently residing on the same property as the landowner or tenant.

b)         A tenant for the purpose of this Part is one who rents 40 acres or more land for commercial agricultural purposes under an agreement with a landowner. Commercial agriculture shall be defined as utilization of land for the raising of hay, grain crops or livestock for profit.  A hunting rights lease, or other non-agricultural lease, is not valid for a landowner or tenant permit.

c)         Resident landowners who own 40 acres or more of land, and resident tenants renting or leasing 40 acres or more of commercial agricultural land, and members of their immediate family may apply for one free turkey permit for their property only in counties open for turkey hunting.  Non-resident Illinois landowners of 40 or more acres of land and members of their immediate family are eligible to receive a permit for their property only for a fee of $25.  All landowners/tenants who do not reside on the property must possess a valid hunting license.

d)         Proof of ownership for all landowner or tenant applications must be provided by one of the following methods:

1)         Submittal of a copy of property deed;

2)         Submittal of a copy of contract for deed;

3)         Submittal of a copy of most recent real estate tax statement upon which landowner's name appears;

4)         Submittal of a copy of a Farm Service Agency 156EZ form; or

5)         Submittal of a copy of trust agreement which must indicate that the trust owns at least 40 acres and the applicant is a current income beneficiary of the trust.

e)         If applying for a tenant permit, applicants are required to submit, in addition to the landowner certification and proof of ownership, a copy of one of the following:

1)         A lease (not a hunting rights lease) or rental agreement, file stamped as recorded by the county clerk, covering the current year; or

2)         The authorized form from the Farm Service Agency.

f)          If the property is owned or rented by more than one person:  Only one landowner (and immediate family) or one tenant (and immediate family) will be issued a permit for every 40 acres of owned or rented land.  For example, if 3 persons own 90 acres, only 2 of the landowners and their immediate family may receive turkey permits.

g)         Shareholder/Member/Partner Landowner Permits

1)         Bona fide equity shareholders of corporations, bona fide equity members of limited liability companies and bona fide equity partners of a general or limited partnership owning 40 or more acres of land in a county may apply for one permit to hunt the corporation, limited liability company or partnership lands only.  Only one permit per 40 acres, for a maximum number of 15 permits per county, shall be issued based on ownership of lands by corporations and limited liability companies.  Only one permit per 40 acres, for a maximum of 3 permits per county, shall be issued based on ownership of lands by partnerships.  Lands leased to corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships shall not be considered as a basis for a permit for the shareholders/members/partners of the lessee.  Lands held in trust by corporations, limited liability companies or partnerships shall not be considered as a basis for a permit by the shareholders/members/partners of the trustee.  If application is made for a permit based upon lands owned by the corporation, limited liability company or partnership, a duly authorized officer of the corporation, limited liability company or partnership must sign a notarized statement authorizing the applicant to hunt on the corporate, company or partnership lands for which a permit is being requested.  This statement must identify the applicant as a bona fide equity shareholder, member or partner as defined in subsections (g)(2), (3) and (4), identify authorization to hunt and identify that no more than 15 authorizations will be requested per county for the corporation, limited liability company or partnership lands.  This document must be attached to the application upon submittal to the Permit Office.  The shareholder/member/partner turkey permit shall be free to resident shareholders/members/partners and the cost to nonresident shareholders and members shall be $25.  Nonresident partners are not eligible to receive permits for partnership lands.

2)         Bona fide equity shareholder means an individual who:

A)        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

B)        intends to retain the ownership of the shares of stock for at least 5 years.

3)         Bona fide equity member means an individual who:

A)        became a member upon the formation of the limited liability company, or has purchased a distributional interest in an Illinois limited liability company for a value equal to the percentage of the appraised value of the limited liability company assets represented by the distributional interest in the limited liability company and subsequently became a member of the company pursuant to Article 30 of the Limited Liability Company Act;

B)        intends to retain the membership for at least 5 years; and

C)        is a member of a foreign LLC who includes a file-stamped copy of his or her current annual filing with the Illinois Secretary of State as part of the application.

4)         Bona fide equity partner means an individual who:

A)        became a partner, either general or limited, upon the formation of a partnership or limited partnership, or 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;

B)        intends to retain ownership of the partnership interest for at least 5 years; and

C)        is a resident of Illinois.

h)         Providing false or deceptive information is a Class A misdemeanor (see 520 ILCS 5/2.38).

(Source:  Amended at 32 Ill. Reg. 14843, effective August 27, 2008)