Illinois/Chicago
From the 50 state
visitor guide :
2019 20 I.L.C.S. §4026/15 45 I.L.C.S. §§20/1 through 20/2 720
I.L.C.S. 5/Art. 11 730 I.L.C.S. §5/3-3-11.5 730 I.L.C.S. §§150/1 through 152/999 20 Ill. Adm. Code §§1280 through 1282.30
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
3 days for initial
registration and updates. “Residence” is
any place at which one resides for 3 or more days in a year. FAQ states that visitors are required to
register if they spend “more than 3 days in a calendar year” in the state.
Adams County sheriff dept. (Quincy) Nov. 2020, confirmed that it’s the 4th day
that triggers registration. Students & employees must register
within 3 days of beginning school or employment in IL. 730 ILCS
150/3(a-5). Updated Aug. 2024. Transient registrants must report
weekly. 730 I.L.C.S. §150/3
IL’s “sexual predator” category includes CP possession, and
also ANY person required to register in another state. 730 ILCS 150/2 (E-10). Added Aug. 2024.
Per Rolfe Survey,
visiting Registrants are placed on state’s website. Per Adams County sheriff dept. (Quincy) Oct.
2020, procedure is available for removal from registry after departure.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Residence
restriction: “Child sex
offender” may not reside w/in 500 ft. of school, park, playground, or facility
where minors gather. §730 I.L.C.S. §150/8.
Presence restriction: “Child sex offender” may not
knowingly be present in any public park, playground
or recreation area; even if in a private building. "Public park"
includes a park, forest preserve, bikeway, trail, or conservation area under
the jurisdiction of the State or a unit of local government, but doesn’t
mention national parks or forests.
“Child sex offender” may not
loiter w/in 500 ft. of school facilities or be present in school facilities
unless a parent present for specific reasons. 720 I.L.C.S. 5/Art. 11.
“Child sex offender” may not knowingly
photograph or videotape a child without permission of parent. 720 ILCS 5/11-24.
Updated Aug. 2024
Duration & updates:
10 yrs to lifetime. SO moving to state: lifetime. SVP must update quarterly. All other annually. §730 I.L.C.S. §150/5-10.
Indiana
From the 50 state
visitor guide :
Indiana Code
2019 I.
C. §11-8-2-12.4 I.C. §§11-8-8-1 thru
11-8-8-22 I.C. §11-13-3-4 I.C. §36-2-13-5.5 & 5.6
Registration Triggers and Deadlines:
3 days for Initial
registration and updates.
Visitors: SO must register if in state for period of
7 days “(including part of a day)” w/in 180-day period, or work in the state
for 7 consecutive days or 14 aggregate days/yr. §11-8-8-7(a)(1)(A)
& (g). SVP must register within 3 days. §11-8-8-7(h).
Transients or “temporary
residents” in transitional housing must register every 7 days. §11-8-8-12.
Per Rolfe Survey,
Visiting Registrants once placed on state’s registry ARE NOT REMOVED.
Residency/Presence and Other Restrictions:
Paroled registrants
face certain residence restrictions. §11-13-3-4.
Otherwise no statewide
restrictions, but local restrictions are permitted.
Duration & updates:
10 yrs to life. “Violent” offenders update every 90 days. Others annually. §11-8-8-14.
How can I go to my business/family obligation in Illinois/Chicago without inadvertently committing a registry violation?
I am sometimes asked by worried registrants if they should be concerned about an upcoming business or family obligation in the Chicago area. Usually the concern is that the trip will keep them in Chicago longer than Illinois’ three days per calendar year registry grace period. But there are many residency and presence restrictions to be concerned about too. You are right to be concerned.
Illinois has among the most onerous restrictions of any state, applying both to its own registered citizens and to visiting registrants. A “Child sex offender” may not knowingly be present in any public park, playground or recreation area; even if in a private building. Visitors with such prior convictions need to realize that some courts in the US have found that the interior corridors of places like shopping malls are “public places” even though they are on private property inside a building.
Therefore if you find yourself in any such “public place” in Illinois/Chicago I’d avoid those playgrounds and definitely not take any pictures because a “Child sex offender” may not knowingly photograph or videotape a child without permission of parent. 720 ILCS 5/11-24. “Child sex offender” may not loiter within 500 ft. of school facilities or be present in school facilities unless a parent present for specific reasons. 720 I.L.C.S. 5/Art. 11.
The term "public park" includes any park, forest preserve, bikeway, trail, or conservation area under the jurisdiction of the State or a unit of local government. Therefore no registrant, whether resident or visitor, can visit Chicago’s famed Millennium Park or any museums or displays therein. But it goes much further than this and I’ll provide a few examples below.
However, state law doesn’t mention historic sites, national parks or forests, of which Illinois has many. Therefore you can presumably visit Lincoln’s Home National Historic Site in Springfield. You can also go camping and hiking in Shawnee National Forest. If you plan to visit any of these places, however, you’d better make it quick because Illinois allows you only three aggregate days in-state per calendar year before you will be required to register. And while an Illinois resident’s duration of registration for a Tier 1 offense is “only” 10 years, it’s lifetime for all out of state offenders no matter the offense.
Where to “reside”: Hammond, IN
Yes, the biggest concern about travel to Illinois/Chicago is the state’s very short grace period. And remember – it’s “three or more days” per calendar year. Partial days count and the third day triggers your registry obligation. However, like most other states Illinois observes a same day “just passing through” exception to these counting rules even if you make a business or family stop on your way through that day.
That is the premise upon which I and others have suggested that one should “reside” just across the Indiana state line while conducting your business in Chicago. It’s a long commute but doable, and Indiana’s grace period is seven days “(including part of a day)” within a 180-day period. Although one should avoid sticking around for that seventh day, it’s a way better deal than you’ll get from Illinois.
In late June 2025 I had planned to go to the (now delayed) NARSOL conference in Michigan, followed by a week or so traveling. With the conference delayed I decided to replace one of those days with a stop in Chicago and an overnight stay in Hammond, IN at the closest cheap hotel to the state line I could find. Then I researched commuting options from that point. Here’s what I found:
There are several hotels within a few minutes drive from really good commuter rail service at Hammond Gateway, so choose your price range and features and Uber your way to the station. It’s a 35 minute ride to Downtown. Rush hour trains run every 20 minutes, the first train is 4:55 am and the last train leaves Downtown 12:45 am. This same train in the other direction has service to South Bend IN International Airport in case for any reason you are concerned about how landing in Illinois might affect your registry status. Once you’re downtown you can get anywhere you need to by bus or the “EL” but you certainly want to research that beforehand. Or you can Uber around when you need to.
If you refuse to or can’t use mass transit for your trip that means you’ll be commuting by car. Parking in Downtown Chicago is a tricky issue. The main parking garages all the signs direct you to are the big ones underneath Millennium Park. You can’t park there because you can’t be “present” in the park! Even the elevators up to street level let you out within the park. Instead you’ll need to find parking anywhere else!
Do not become “employed” in Illinois/Chicago
If you have to report employment information in your home state you already know that being “employed” in a place will suck you onto the registry as surely as “residing” there.
You can compliantly go to Illinois/Chicago to perform a business obligation without becoming “employed” there. I knew a guy whose job was to maintain and repair the asphalt furnaces his company manufactured for road building projects across America. He had to stay for days at a time to get those things fixed but his employer was in Florida. That’s where the paychecks came from so that’s where he was “employed.” You can receive payment for services but just make sure you never receive anything that looks like a paycheck from an employer with an Illinois address.
Places you can’t go
In preparation for my Chicago
onsite research I found a list of “Top 12 sights to see in Chicago”
online. Of those seven are off limits to
us:
·
Millenium
Park
·
Navy
Pier (in Millenium Park)
·
Field
Museum (in Millenium Park)
·
The
Bean (in Millenium Park)
·
Lincoln
Park Zoo (it’s a park)
·
Shedd
Aquarium (in Millenium Park)
·
Any
boat tour that stops drops you off at Millenium Park
· Griffin Museum of Science – I’ve decided to scratch science museums in general from my list because they’re always packed with kids and it gives me the creeps. Many have children's play zones. I don’t want to be accused to going there for the wrong reason.
Always keep in mind that in Illinois/Chicago a “child sex offender” may not knowingly be present in any public park, playground or recreation area, even if in a private building. Museums often have indoor play or “discovery” rooms. "Public park" includes a park, forest preserve, bikeway, trail, or conservation area under the jurisdiction of the State or a unit of local government.
A gentleman at a NARSOL Conference told me he was planning on attending Chicago’s Pride Month event the following weekend. I had to reply to him, “Not if it’s in Millennium Park you’re not!” explaining about the presence restriction. I was able to offer the following possible out: Often the crowds and booths and activities with this kind of event spill out into the public sidewalks and streets surrounding the park. Even the sidewalk on the east side of Michigan Ave. isn’t part of the Millennium Park, it’s part of the street right-of-way and you can be there.
Places you CAN go
You can go take care of your business or family obligation. You can visit any attraction that’s not in a park or school. You can eat at any of the city’s great restaurants and go to its theaters. The famous Picasso sculpture is in an office building plaza that’s open to the public. That’s not a state or local park, so you can walk right up to it, take your photos and even touch it. Just make sure there’s no kids walking by in your photos.
You can stay as late in the evening as you want and enjoy the nightlife – as long as you skedaddle afterward and stay overnight Hammond IN (see above) to avoid using up two of your precious three days aggregate per calendar year in the state of Illinois.
One more comment: A couple of people (including my ex) told me “Oh you shouldn’t go to Chicago – it’s too dangerous!
Well … it’s an enormous city and some parts of it really are dangerous. However most of it isn’t and as a visitor it’s unlikely you’ll ever see those dangerous places. Chicago’s enormous downtown, which is probably where you’re going, is no more dangerous than any other city downtown. And if your business or family obligation takes you to someplace “less safe” it’s probably a place you are already familiar with and know your way around. So the whole “Chicago is too dangerous” thing is bullshit.
Here are a few other places you
CAN go to, including ones I visited on my June 2025 visit or past visits while
registered:
· Wrigley Field – go enjoy a ballgame
Oakton – Frank Lloyd Wright’s home is a museum right near the EL stop
· Miracle Mile – Michigan St.
Previous Illinois visit: May 2023
As part of my 2023 Mid-South tour I passed through southern Illinois on my way from Missouri to Kentucky. I decided this would be my first time staying overnight, specifically in Shawnee National Forest. The map shows many available campgrounds but the one I set my sights on turned out to be a hard to find place with absolutely no facilities. Note to self: next time, definitely skip Lake of Egypt. The silver lining was that it was free – you get what you pay for. The next morning I was on my way out of state.
However, just staying in that crappy campground one night consumed two of my precious three days per calendar year in Illinois, and here I am admitting to it in writing. Therefore I needed to avoid staying overnight for the rest of 2023, although I could drive through without staying overnight as many times as I wanted.
And so I did – on my way home to Iowa from the Northeast on
the same cross-country trip. I was just
passing through on I-80 but I had as much of the day as I wanted to do it, so I
looked at my map of Illinois and picked out a few not-too-far-off-the-highway
attractions to stop at. These included:
·
Norwegian Settlers Monument in Sheridan (watch out – it’s
really quite close to Sheridan Correctional Center!)
·
A nearby piece of guerilla sculpture in the form of a
crashing airplane!
·
Wild Bill Hickok’s Birthplace Memorial in Troy.
· A bald eagle’s nest, with growing eaglets visible and everything, in a tree appropriately across the street from the bust of Wild Bill!
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