Litchfield City Council Meeting | Oct. 2, 2025

Article Summary: After a lengthy discussion regarding hunting on leased city property, the Litchfield City Council voted to postpone any major changes to the hunting program until next year. Instead, the council focused on immediate safety, opting to require vehicle registration stickers for hunters accessing city-owned land for the remainder of the current season.

Hunting Program Key Points:

• Postponement: The council voted to postpone a proposed overhaul of the Lake Hunting Ordinance until Feb. 1, 2026, to allow for more research and public input.

• Immediate Change: Hunters will now be required to register and display a vehicle sticker when hunting on city property to assist conservation officers.

• Lease Confusion: A significant portion of the meeting addressed confusion over hunting rights on city land leased to private individuals for farming or timber, with officials pledging to review all lease agreements this winter.

• Safety Focus: The primary goal of the discussion was improving safety and accountability, ensuring the city knows who is on the property.

The Litchfield City Council on Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, tackled a complex debate surrounding hunting rights on city-owned land, ultimately deciding to delay major policy changes while implementing a new vehicle registration system for immediate safety.

Lake Superintendent Heather Bell presented a proposal to require hunters to register with the city and display a windshield card. She explained that conservation officers had requested a system to identify vehicles parked on city property.

“It’s just kind of open and free-for-all to people to come in,” Bell said. “Every other property in the state of Illinois has a registration process where they get like a windshield card.”

The proposal sparked a broader conversation about land leases. Resident Kevin Davis addressed the council during public participation, raising concerns about restricted access to public land that is leased to private individuals. He questioned whether leased parcels were properly recorded and if the public was being unfairly excluded from hunting on taxpayer-owned ground.

“The woods don’t turn red when you’re walking out of there,” Davis said, referring to the difficulty of knowing when one has crossed from public hunting ground into a leased area where permission is required.

Mayor Jacob Fleming and City Attorney Michael McGinley acknowledged the confusion, noting that many of the leases date back decades to the original land acquisition for the lake. McGinley admitted he had not yet had the opportunity to review the leases in detail.

“We need to read them and figure out what’s going on,” McGinley said. “I think we’re going to be in a much better position to answer all these questions [after review].”

The council discussed potential solutions, including leasing hunting rights for revenue or clarifying public access. However, given that hunting season is imminent, officials agreed it was too late to implement a comprehensive new ordinance.

Instead, the council voted to postpone the ordinance revision until February 2026. In the interim, the city will move forward with the vehicle sticker system for the current season on existing public hunting grounds. Hunters will be asked to provide basic contact information for safety purposes in case of an emergency.

“My intention is to bring a program back to you… early in the year,” Bell told the council.