Article V. Rules on Trial Court Proceedings in Traffic and Conservation Offenses, Ordinance Offenses, Petty Offenses, Misdemeanors, and Civil Law Violations · Part E. Rules and Procedures for Non-Traffic/Non-Conservation Ordinance Violations · Last amended 2023 · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceRule 570 marks out which ordinance prosecutions — those passed under specific county, municipal, or home-rule authority with no jail time on the table — fall under Rules 570 through 579.
Full Text of Ill. S. Ct. R. 570
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Rules 570 through 579 are applicable to the prosecution, through the judicial system, of
violations of ordinances passed pursuant to section 5-1113 of the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5- 1113), section 1-2-1 of the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/1-2-1), and section 11-1301 of the Illinois Vehicle Code (625 ILCS 5/11-1301) or home rule authority for which the penalty does not include the possibility of a jail term. These rules shall not apply to administrative adjudications. These rules shall not apply to traffic or conservation offenses as defined in Rule 501.
Plain-English Summary
Rules 570 through 579 govern a specific slice of local law enforcement: prosecutions for violating municipal or county ordinances, passed under the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, the Vehicle Code's local-ordinance provision, or home-rule authority, where the penalty can't include jail time.
Two categories sit outside these rules entirely. Administrative adjudication — the hearing-officer process many cities use for parking tickets and code violations — isn't covered here at all. And traffic or conservation offenses, as Rule 501 defines them, follow their own separate set of rules in Parts A, C, and D.
Frequently Asked Questions
What kind of violations do Rules 570 through 579 cover?
Municipal and county ordinance violations that carry no possibility of jail time.
Does this cover a ticket handled by a city's administrative hearing officer?
No, administrative adjudication proceedings fall outside these rules entirely.
Does this cover a speeding ticket?
No, traffic and conservation offenses are governed by Parts A, C, and D instead.
What kinds of local ordinances does this include?
Ones passed under the Counties Code, the Illinois Municipal Code, or a municipality's home-rule power.
Why does it matter whether jail time is possible?
Ordinance violations that could carry jail time are prosecuted under the rules of criminal procedure instead.
Committee Comments and Commentary
(December 7, 2011)
Rules 570 through 579 apply to the prosecution of ordinance violations not punishable by a jail term and other than traffic and conservation offenses. These rules also apply to parking offenses. Violations of ordinances punishable by a jail term are to be prosecuted in accordance with the rules of criminal procedure. 65 ILCS 5/1-2-1.1. Nothing in these rules is intended to limit the ability to proceed through an administrative process or other alternative methods of resolving ordinance violations. Rule 570 establishes the applicability of the ordinance violation prosecutions which are prosecuted through the judicial system to ordinances passed pursuant to the Counties Code (55 ILCS 5/5-1113 (ordinance and rules to execute powers; limitations on punishments)), the Illinois Municipal Code (65 ILCS 5/1-3-1 (ordinances and rules; fines or penalties; limitations on punishment)), and home rule authority where the penalty does not include jail time. Rule 570 would exclude from these rules ordinance violations heard by the administrative adjudication process.
Source & verification. Rule text, official Committee Comments, and
amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Supreme Court Rules,
promulgated by the Supreme Court of Illinois. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
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