Does anyone know the specific requirements for this. On some of my hunts, I cross 5 to 10 property boundaries in a day. So, i don't feel like carrying a briefcase to keep all the individual permission slips in order. Does anyone know if it would be acceptable to just have a single letter stating that i have permission to hunt, then have it signed by all the different landowners?

In Illinois you do not have to have written permission from any landowner. You dohave to have permission (may be verbal) to hunt on land not your own.

Unless there has been a change in the regulations, written permission is required. According to my understanding, you can even be ticketed for not having written permission when you are hunting on a relatives land beyond your immediate family.

I have ben a Deputy Sheriff for 29 years in a rural county and you are not REQUIRED to have written permission. I have also taught hunter safety classes for the past twenty years. Here is the cit. 520 ILCS 5/2.33 (CH 61 par 2.33) t)



t) It is unlawful for any person to trap or hunt, or

3

intentionally or wantonly allow a dog to hunt, within or upon

4

the land of another, or upon waters flowing over or standing on

5

the land of another, without first obtaining permission from

6

the owner or tenant. It shall be prima facie evidence that a

7

person does not have permission of the owner or tenant if the

8

person is unable to demonstrate to the law enforcement officer

9

in the field that permission had been obtained. This provision

10

may only be rebutted by testimony of the owner or tenant that

11

permission had been given. Before enforcing this Section the

12

law enforcement officer must have received notice from the

13

owner or tenant of a violation of this Section. Statements made

14

to the law enforcement officer regarding this notice shall not

15

be rendered inadmissible by the hearsay rule when offered for

16

the purpose of showing the required notice.

If you have any further questions the complete unabridged Wildlife Code can be found in the same location (you might have the GOOGLE the site)

I got screwed up when I copied the paragraph so here is the rest of it.
Lines 6 - 16 further explain what happens in the real world. When the CPO or Deputy gets a call from the land owner about you, and you tell the officer that "John Brown who lives in that red brick house gave me permission and you give his phone number or his kids name or some other information that only someone who really knew the land owner would know. No police officer that I know of after hearing that much information would give anyone a citation for Hunting Without Permission. This law is to stop the people who drive around and start walking where there are not any No Trespassing signs. In Illinois you can not arrest someone for criminal trespass if the "violator" did not recieve either written or verbal notice.

I don't see anywhere in the regs that permission has to be in written form.
Where did you see this Lanse?

Thanks JOHNE, I have never seen the in-depth discussion of the regulation that you provided, only the condensed version in the hunting and fishing regulations that simply states, "It is unlawful to trap or hunt, or intentionally or wantonly allow a dog to hunt, within or upon the land of another, or upon waters flowing over or standing on the land of another without first obtaining permission from the owner or tenant." Many folks in my neck of the woods avoid any potential complications by getting written permission since it is kind of hard to demonstrate that you are not tresapssing if you are out in the middle of the woods and the landowner is nowhere near to confirm things. Somehow that got me to believing that written permission was a legal requirement. But I am thrilled as hell to be wrong.

Can folks clear up something else. The regs now state that it is unlawful to enter property to hunt without permission whether it is posted or not. Is that a reasonably new development or has that always been the law. When i was growing up, the generally rule was that if it wasn't posted, the owner didn't care.

No, it's always been that way. One is trespassing whether posted or not.
You're right though, back in the day, nobody really cared.

Lanse you are doing the right thing in trying to get written permission. Although I must admit I have trouble with 2 landowners siging anything stating I have written permission. Its not me but the idea from some landowners is that by signing anything granting permission somehow makes them liable for injuries, although Illinois has tried like hell to convey to landowners they are not held liable. Of course we all know how lawyers work.

Look at itthis way, anyone could forge a written permission slip especially if there is no state form. The only way a LEO will be able to verify someone has permission is to actually speak with the landowner.