Ill. Admin. Code tit. 17, § 530.80 – Regulations for Fee Hunting of Pheasant, Quail and Rabbit at Controlled Permit Hunting Sites

a) Hunting Seasons:
1. 1) The following controlled pheasant hunting areas shall be closed to pheasant permit hunting on every Monday and Tuesday during the controlled hunting season (except as provided in subsection (a)(3)) and on December 25.
  Chain O'Lakes State Park
  Des Plaines State Conservation Area
  Eldon Hazlet State Park (Carlyle Lake)
  Iroquois County State Conservation Area
  Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area – Controlled Unit
  Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park
  Kankakee River State Park
  Lee County State Conservation Area (Green River State Wildlife Area)
  Moraine View State Park
  Sand Ridge State Forest
  Silver Springs State Park
  Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park (Rend Lake)
2. 2) The following controlled pheasant hunting areas are open only to participants in the Illinois Youth Pheasant Hunting Program on the first Saturday following the opening of the statewide upland game season. Exceptions are in parentheses.
  Chain O'Lakes State Park
  Des Plaines State Conservation Area
  Eldon Hazlet State Park (Carlyle Lake)
  Iroquois County State Conservation Area
  Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area – Controlled Unit (Conducted on first Saturday of Upland Game Season)
  Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park
  Lee County State Conservation Area (Green River State Wildlife Area)
  Kankakee River State Park
  Moraine View State Park
  Sand Ridge State Forest
  Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park (Rend Lake)
3. 3) Controlled pheasant hunting seasons are listed below; exceptions are in parentheses; with written authorization from the Director, captive-reared game bird hunting may be scheduled during the season provided for in Section 1.13 or 2.6 of the Wildlife Code [520 ILCS 5], whichever is longer, on the following DNR operated areas:
  Chain O'Lakes State Park (closed the week of the November 3-day firearm season) – Friday through Sunday beginning with the Friday before the first Saturday in November through the seventh Sunday following, except Wednesday through Sunday during the week of Thanksgiving Day
  Des Plaines State Conservation Area (closed during the November 3-day firearm deer hunting), Iroquois County State Conservation Area (closed during the November firearm deer hunting season), Silver Springs State Park and Moraine View State Park – the Wednesday before the first Saturday of November through the ninth Sunday following
  Eldon Hazlet State Park and Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park – the Wednesday following the first Saturday of November through the ninth Sunday following
  Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area – Controlled Unit (closed during the November and December firearm deer hunting season), Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park (closed New Year's Day and the Thursday and Friday after the first Saturday in November when the first Saturday in November is November 1 through 3), Kankakee River State Park (closed New Year's Day) – season dates are those specified in Section 530.20
  Lee County State Conservation Area (Green River) (closed the weeks of the November 3-day and December 4-day firearm deer seasons) – Friday through Sunday beginning with the Friday before the first Saturday in November through the seventh Sunday following
  Sand Ridge State Forest – Fridays through Sundays and Thanksgiving Day during the season dates specified in Section 530.20

b) Hunting hours are listed below. On Thanksgiving Day, hunting hours are 9:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. Hunters with reservations are required to check in at the check station on the following sites at the listed times. Hunters with reservations that check in after the required check-in time may not be allowed to hunt if the site hunter quota has been filled.

Site Name	Check-In Times	Hunting Hours

Chain O'Lakes State Park	7:00-8:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Des Plaines State Conservation Area	7:00-8:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Eldon Hazlet State Park	7:00-8:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
(Carlyle Lake)

Iroquois County State Conservation Area	8:00-8:30 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area (Controlled Unit)	8:00-8:30 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.


Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park	8:00-8:30 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Kankakee River State Park	8:00-8:30 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Lee County State Conservation Area (Green River State Wildlife Area)	8:00-8:30 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Moraine View State Park	7:00-8:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Sand Ridge State Forest	8:00-8:30 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Silver Springs State Park	8:00-8:30 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park (Rend Lake)	7:00-8:00 a.m.	9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

c) Except for Standing Vehicle Permittees with a Disabled Controlled Pheasant Hunting Permit, during the controlled pheasant hunting season when daily quotas are not filled, permits may be issued, but not required, by drawing held at the conclusion of check‑in time and if daily quotas remain unfilled at the conclusion of the drawing, on a first come-first served basis until 9:00 a.m. unless an earlier time is posted at the site's hunter check station at the following sites:
Chain O'Lakes State Park
Des Plaines State Conservation Area
Eldon Hazlet State Park
Iroquois County State Conservation Area
Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area
Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park
Lee County State Conservation Area (Green River)
Kankakee River State Park
Moraine View State Park
Sand Ridge State Forest
Silver Springs State Park
Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park
d) Hunting licenses, daily "Public Hunting Grounds for Pheasants" fees and hunting permit fees collected by public/private partnership area concessionaire:
1. 1) Depending on the availability of staff during the controlled pheasant hunting season, hunters may be required to deposit their hunting license in the check station while hunting. Persons exempt by law from having a hunting license must deposit their Firearm Owner's Identification Card. If they are under 21 years old and do not have a card, they must be accompanied by a parent, legal guardian or a person in loco parentis who has a valid card in possession.
2. 2) Pursuant to Section 1.13 of the Wildlife Code, at Lee County State Conservation Area (Green River), hunters must pay the following daily Public Hunting Grounds for Pheasants fee to the Department prior to hunting: $34 residents; $39 non-residents. On the Sunday following Thanksgiving Day, hunters under 18 are not required to pay the daily Public Hunting Grounds for Pheasants fee.
3. 3) Pursuant to Section 1.13 of the Code, at Des Plaines State Conservation Area, Iroquois County State Conservation Area, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area – Controlled Unit, Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park, Kankakee River State Park, Moraine View State Park, Eldon Hazlet State Park (Carlyle Lake), Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park and Sand Ridge State Forest, hunters must pay the following daily Public Hunting Grounds for Pheasants fee to the Department prior to hunting: $30 residents; $35 non‑residents. On the Sunday following Thanksgiving Day and the Saturday between Christmas Day and New Year's Day, hunters under 18 are not required to pay the daily Public Hunting Grounds for Pheasants fee.
4. 4) Hunters must pay the following hunting permit fees to be collected by the public/private partnership area concessionaire under the terms of a Controlled Pheasant Hunting Agreement with the Department prior to hunting. On youth hunting days requested by the concessionaire and authorized by the Department, hunters under the age of 18 are not required to pay a hunting permit fee.
e) During the controlled pheasant hunting season, hunters must wear a back patch issued by the check station.
f) Anyone who has killed game previously and has it in possession or in their vehicle must declare it with the person in charge of the area during check-in. All game found in a hunter's possession after hunting has started on the area shall be considered illegally taken if the hunter has not declared it prior to going afield.
g) All hunting must be done with shotguns or bow and arrow. Only shot shells with a shot size of No. 5 lead or a non-toxic shot size ballistically equivalent to No. 5 lead or smaller may be used, except at Chain O' Lakes State Park, Des Plaines State Fish and Wildlife Area, Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area, Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park, Lee County Conservation Area (Green River), Silver Springs State Park, Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park and Eldon Hazlet State Park where only nontoxic shot approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may be possessed and only shot shells with a shot size ballistically equivalent to No. 5 lead or smaller may be used or in possession. Flu flu arrows only may be used or in possession by bow and arrow hunters.
h) Non-hunters are not allowed in the field, except at special hunts publicly announced by the Department where non-hunters authorized by the Department shall be allowed in the field, and except for operators of Department conveyances and Standing Vehicle Permittees and a single dog handler for the Permittee.
i) Hunters under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult hunter.
1. j) Daily limits − On the following areas, a permit authorizes the harvest of 2 pheasants of either sex per hunter; exceptions are in parentheses. With written authorization from the Director, the Department may issue more than one permit to a hunter, and, further, the Department may authorize the harvest of released game birds and migratory game birds as provided for in Section 3.28 of the Code. The limits provided for in Section 3.28 shall apply at the following sites:
  Chain O'Lakes State Park
  Des Plaines State Conservation Area
  Eldon Hazlet State Park
  Lee County State Conservation Area (2 cock pheasants per permit hunter)
  Iroquois County State Conservation Area
  Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish and Wildlife Area (additionally, 8 bobwhite quail opening day through the Sunday following Thanksgiving Day and 4 rabbits per hunter)
  Johnson-Sauk Trail State Park (additionally, 8 bobwhite quail, 2 Hungarian partridge and 4 rabbits per hunter)
  Kankakee River State Park (additionally, 8 bobwhite quail and 4 rabbits per hunter)
  Moraine View State Park
  Sand Ridge State Forest (additionally, 8 bobwhite quail and 4 rabbits per hunter)
  Silver Springs State Park
  Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park
k) Tagging of Birds
1. l) During the controlled pheasant hunting season, hunters may not leave the confines of any permit area and return to hunt on the permit area during the same day.
2. m) Any person who violates any provision of this Part or 17 Ill. Adm. Code 510.10(c)(1), (4) and (6) or (d)(7) or Section 2.33(n), (x) or (z) of the Wildlife Code shall be subject to arrest and/or removal from the premises for the remainder of the controlled pheasant hunting season under applicable statutes, including Section 21-5 of the Criminal Code of 2012 [720 ILCS 5] (Criminal Trespass to State Supported Land). Hunters may request a hearing within 10 days after the citation by written request addressed to: Legal Division, Department of Natural Resources, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield IL 62702-1271. The hearing shall be governed by the provisions of 17 Ill. Adm. Code 2530.
3. n) Violation of a site regulation is a petty offense (see 520 ILCS 5/2.6, 2.7, 2.13 or 2.27).
During the controlled pheasant hunting season, all pheasants must be affixed with a Department tag before they are removed from the area during the controlled pheasant hunting season. The tag must remain on the leg of the pheasants until the pheasants are finally prepared for consumption.

(Source: Amended at 48 Ill. Reg. 3840, effective March 1, 2024)