SPRINGFIELD – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) reminds firearm deer hunters that mandatory check stations will be open this year in counties where chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been detected.
The 2024 Illinois firearm deer season dates are Nov. 22-24 and Dec. 5-8.
Check stations are used by IDNR to monitor CWD in Boone, Carroll, DeKalb, Grundy, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, LaSalle, Livingston, McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will, and Winnebago counties. In those counties, hunter-harvested deer must be taken to a designated firearm deer check station by 8 p.m. on the day the deer is killed.
Successful firearm hunters in CWD counties should not attempt to report their deer online or via telephone; check station attendance in these counties is mandatory.
A list of check station locations for CWD testing can be found online. Hunters harvesting deer in Kane County should take their deer to a check station in an adjacent county. Hunters should also note that the Carroll County check station has moved and will be located at the Carroll County Farm Bureau in Mount Carroll.
Successful firearm deer hunters in all other counties must report their harvest by 10 p.m. on the same calendar day the deer is taken by using the online check-in system or by phone at 866-452-4325 (866-IL-CHECK).
Successful deer hunters in all other counties may have their deer tested for CWD. Hunters can visit participating vendors (taxidermists and meat processors) or drop deer heads at self-serve drop off sites. A list of locations is available online.