Bill
SB 2488
The bill requires daily wild turkey hunting hours to be the same for youths and adults, start by sunrise and end by sunset, and allows carryover of unused permits within the year.
Status: Died in committee (per provided record)
Introduced: February 7, 2025 (sponsor: Sen. Patrick J. Joyce); received by Secretary March 13, 2025
Companion bill: HB 636
Primary sponsor/co-sponsors: Patrick J. Joyce; Suzy Glowiak Hilton; Terri Bryant; Christopher Belt
Note on chronology: the legislative-action list provided includes some inconsistent dates (for example, “Died In Committee” is dated 2025-02-04, before the bill’s listed introduction). The summary below reflects the bill text and the other provided actions.
Purpose
- Amend the Illinois Wildlife Code (Sections 2.10 and 2.11) to (1) make daily hunting time limits for wild turkey identical for youths and adults, (2) specify minimum daily shooting hours, (3) allow unused turkey permits to be carried between seasons within the same year, and (4) require the Department to adopt implementing administrative rules.
Key provisions and changes
- Daily time limits parity: The Department-set daily time limits for taking wild turkey must be the same for youths and adults.
- Minimum hours: Those daily limits must begin no later than sunrise and end no earlier than sunset (i.e., the Department cannot set hours that start after sunrise or end before sunset).
- Permit carryover: Unfilled Wild Turkey Hunting Permits from one season may be carried over to any other wild turkey season in the same calendar year.
- Rulemaking: The Department is required to adopt administrative rules to implement the amendments to Sections 2.10 and 2.11.
- Existing statutory provisions retained/affirmed in the text include permit fee caps (resident fee not to exceed $15; nonresident fee not to exceed $125), allowed weapons (bow and arrow or shotgun between .410 and 10 gauge, with rulemaking authority to restrict shot), bag limits (no more than one wild turkey per valid permit), baiting prohibitions, and definitions for baiting/baited areas.
Who is affected
- Hunters (youth and adult): changes to allowable daily shooting hours and parity between youth and adult seasons.
- Permit holders: greater flexibility to use an unfilled permit in another wild turkey season within the same year.
- Illinois Department responsible for wildlife regulation: must promulgate or amend administrative rules to implement these statutory changes.
- Wildlife/resource managers: potential effects on harvest timing and management practices.
Potential impacts
- Hunters gain scheduling flexibility (carryover) and regulatory parity between youth and adult daily hours.
- Minimum daylight hours requirement could narrow or constrain the Department’s ability to set pre-dawn or post-dusk hunting times (may affect hunter opportunity and wildlife disturbance considerations).
- Requires administrative rule updates and possible operational changes (public notice, season brochures, enforcement guidance).
Procedural/timeline notes
- Bill was introduced in early 2025, had at least one committee referral and co-sponsor additions, and—according to the supplied record—was listed as “Died In Committee.” If reintroduced, implementing rulemaking would follow statutory enactment and typically include public notice and comment under administrative rule procedures.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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