Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

How private are private beaches?
I heard many times that private beaches are private, so long as you are 10 (feet or meters, can't remember) or closer from the shoreline. That is, beyond 10 feet/meters into the water, a beach is no longer private.

I ask because I have gone to a private beach on Lake Michigan before in the state of Illinois. Next to the private beach, there was a public beach. People began to ''enter'' the private beach without paying, so police was notified. Cops came and I remember one of them say that the owner of the private beach cannot do a single thing about it. The reason was that the accussed people entered lake Michigan from the public beach and made their way onto the private side, while all this time being further than 10 (feet or meters) away from the private beach's shoreline. Cops eventually left and none of the people got in trouble.

Therefore, is there a law that says water is owned by nobody past 10 feet or meters or something of that sort?

Asked on 4/13/05, 2:40 pm

Thomas Moens Moens Law Offices, Chartered

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Re: How private are private beaches?

You might want to repost your question under Real Estate and Real Property.

Intellectual Property concerns copyrights, patents, trademarks....

Answered on 4/13/05, 4:58 pm

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