Amendment of Municipal Code Sections 8-32-060 and 8-32-120 to replace the term "churches" with "places of worship" regarding designation of and restrictions within noise sensitive zones
- Record number: O2026-0022493
- Type: Ordinance; category: Municipal Code Amendments
- Status: Final
- Sponsor: Conway, William
- Committee: Committee on Public Safety
- Introduced: Jan 21, 2026
- Final action: Feb 18, 2026
- Official record: Office of the City Clerk
Roll call: Passed Feb 18, 2026
48 yea, 1 nay, 1 absent. This was a divided vote. On motion of Alderperson Hopkins, and unsuccessful motion to reconsider by Alderperson Harris, the matter was Passed. Voted at the City Council meeting of Feb 18, 2026.
Nay (1): David H. Moore (17)
Yea (48): Daniel La Spata (1), Brian Hopkins (2), Pat Dowell (3), Lamont J. Robinson (4), Desmon C. Yancy (5), William E. Hall (6), Gregory I. Mitchell (7), Michelle A. Harris (8), Anthony Beale (9), Peter Chico (10), Nicole T. Lee (11), Julia M. Ramirez (12), Marty Quinn (13), Jeylú B. Gutiérrez (14), Raymond A. Lopez (15), Stephanie D. Coleman (16), Derrick G. Curtis (18), Matthew J. O'Shea (19), Jeanette B. Taylor (20), Ronnie L. Mosley (21), Michael D. Rodriguez (22), Silvana Tabares (23), Byron Sigcho-López (25), Jessica L. Fuentes (26), Walter R. Burnett (27), Jason C. Ervin (28), Chris Taliaferro (29), Ruth Cruz (30), Felix Cardona Jr. (31), Scott Waguespack (32), Rossana Rodríguez Sánchez (33), William Conway (34), Anthony J. Quezada (35), Gilbert Villegas (36), Emma Mitts (37), Nicholas Sposato (38), Samantha Nugent (39), Andre Vasquez Jr. (40), Anthony V. Napolitano (41), Brendan Reilly (42), Timothy R. Knudsen (43), Bennett R. Lawson (44), James M. Gardiner (45), Angela Clay (46), Matthew J. Martin (47), Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48), Maria E. Hadden (49), Debra L. Silverstein (50)
Absent (1): Monique L. Scott (24)
Plain-language summary
Written by AI (@cf/openai/gpt-oss-120b) from the ordinance text only: W34 - Places of Worship Noise Sensitive Zone.pdf. AI can make mistakes; the official document always wins.
The city is changing the language in its noise rules to say "places of worship" instead of "churches." It also keeps the rules that limit loud sounds like bullhorns in areas where schools, libraries, places of worship, hospitals, and nursing homes are located, and requires signs to mark those zones.
- Updates the definition of noise-sensitive activities to use "places of worship" instead of "churches".
- Noise-sensitive zones are created after an ordinance amendment and consultation with the Police and Public Health departments.
- The Commissioner of Transportation must put clear signs showing the boundaries of these zones.
- In those zones, using bullhorns, loud electronic amplification, or percussive noises that disturb schools, libraries, places of worship, hospitals, or nursing homes is prohibited.
- The ordinance becomes effective once passed and published.
Who: Residents, schools, libraries, places of worship, hospitals, nursing homes and other noise-sensitive institutions benefit, while individuals using bullhorns or loud amplification in those zones are restricted.
Where: Chicago
Timeline
- Jan 21, 2026: Referred, City Council
- Feb 3, 2026: Recommended to Pass, Committee on Public Safety
- Feb 18, 2026: Passed, City Council
Documents
- W34 - Places of Worship Noise Sensitive Zone.pdf (Legislation)
- CLTR-2493.pdf (Committee Letter)
Lobbying and money
Computed links; money near a vote is not evidence that it influenced the vote.
Who lobbied on it
- Jewish United Fund/Jewish Federation Of Metropolitan Chicago: CHANGE WORDING IN NOISE-SENSITIVE ZONE ORDINANCE (1 filing, Jan 1, 2026 to Mar 31, 2026; Jane Charney; matched by semantic embedding)