520 ILCS 5/2.26

(520 ILCS 5/2.26) (from Ch. 61, par. 2.26)

Sec. 2.26. Deer hunting permits. In this Section, "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.

In this Section, "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 pursuant to Article 30 of the Limited Liability Company Act and who (2) intends to retain the membership for at least 5 years.

In this Section, "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, (2) intends to retain ownership of the partnership interest for at least 5 years, and (3) is a resident of Illinois.

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 $25.00 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 in 2005, $375 in 2006, and $425 in 2007 and thereafter. Permits shall be issued without charge to:

(a) Illinois landowners residing in Illinois who own at least 40 acres of Illinois land and wish to hunt their land only,

(b) resident tenants of at least 40 acres of commercial agricultural land where they will hunt, and

(c) 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 Illinois who wish to hunt on the corporation's, company's, or partnership's land only. One 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.

Bona fide landowners or tenants who do not wish to hunt only on the land they own, rent, or lease or bona fide equity shareholders, bona fide equity members, or bona fide equity partners who do not wish to hunt only on the land owned by the corporation, limited liability company, or partnership shall be charged the same fee as the applicant who is not a landowner, tenant, bona fide equity shareholder, bona fide equity member, or bona fide equity partner. Nonresidents of Illinois who own at least 40 acres of land 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.

The deer hunting permit issued without fee shall be valid on all farm lands which the person to whom it is issued owns, 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.

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 possession any firearm not authorized by administrative rule for a specific hunting season when taking deer.

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, 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 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 lead attached to the dog's collar or harness. Tracking wounded deer is 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 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 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 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 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. 96-162, eff. 1-1-10; 96-831, eff. 1-1-10; 96-1042, eff. 1-1-11; 97-564, eff. 8-25-11; 97-907, eff. 8-7-12.)