A measure passed in the Illinois Senate would remove some hurdles for farmers to hunt nuisance deer on their land. [Paul Danese, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons]

Illinois’ deer population has been steadily increasing since 2021, and Illinois farmers say they’re feeling the impact. The Illinois Senate unanimously approved a measure Thursday that aims to improve population control in the state. 

Illinois had 730,000 whitetail deer in 2024, a 90,000 increase from 2021, according to Deer Friendly. The population remained steady at 640,000 from 2013-2021, after an epizootic hemorrhagic disease caused the population to decrease in 2012.  

Illinois runs deer hunting seasons to control populations. Hunters harvested 171,322 deet during the 2024-25 season, according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR). Illinois farmers can also request a deer removal permit (DRPs) during the hunting off-season if deer are damaging their crops. Farmers have to prove to IDNR each year that their crops are being damaged to receive a permit.  

But the Illinois Farm Bureau and farmers across the state say that current statute does not give farmers enough freedom to manage deer on their land, leading to crop damage.  

Senate Bill 710 would allow landowners to acquire more permits to hunt on their land. It also instructs IDNR to allow farmers to automatically get permits based on the number of deer harvested the previous year. This would remove the requirement that farmers prove there is damage each year, allowing them to remove deer before crops are damaged.  

The measure also expands youth hunting, allowing youth hunters to get one either-sex permit and one-antlerless permit. Youth hunters can currently only get one permit.  

“Our young people need to know how to go out and hunt and hunt properly,” said Sen. Patrick Joyce (D-Kankakee), the bill’s sponsor.  

The bill received support from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, with many saying they’ve had farmers in their district approach them about this issue.  

Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Champaign) said this is a statewide issue because when crops are damaged, food prices can be impacted. He said one farmer in his district lost $45,000 to crop damage from deer.  

“Beyond that, this is a public health issue,” he said. “When you have a deer population that's out of control as it is, that leads to chronic wasting disease, it leads to all kinds of disease among the deer population, sometimes diseases jump species, as we've all seen in the last several years. How many people have ever been hit by a deer in their car?”  

Chronic wasting disease is a neurological disorder that is fatal to deer.  

The law would apply to farmers who have 40 or more acres of land. SB 710 now goes to the House.  

Joyce is also the sponsor of a bill passed out of the House that would allow landowners with 20 or more acres to qualify for the permit when deer on their land have chronic wasting disease.  

That measure passed the House and Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously. It’s awaiting its second reading on the Senate floor.  

IDNR operates a sharpshooting program to manage deer populations when chronic wasting disease is identified. A second measure passed out of the House would instruct IDNR to suspend the program in a county if that county’s deer population has had three years without chronic wasting diseases. IDNR would be able to reinstate the program at any point if chronic waste disease is identified again.  

That measure also passed the Senate Agriculture Committee unanimously and is awaiting a second reading on the Senate floor.