Is it Legal in Illinois to Leave Car Running, A/C on When I Run Into a Gas Station?

Those high temps and summer heat are coming! So if you have the air conditioning on full blast, can you park and run into a gas station or store quick? SJ-R

We've all seen this, or maybe even done this. It's a sunny and hot day in the upper 90's...You need to run into a gas station quick. You park, you keep the car running with the air conditioning blasted and run into the store quick.

Was that illegal? Did you just break the law? I mean, you only went into the gas station for a slice of pizza, a fountain drink six donuts and some scratch offs...it wasn't that long.

So here's the nuts and bolts of all this:

"In Illinois, you can not leave a car unattended with the engine running and the key in the ignition, based on the state’s vehicle code. Those who do could face fines. Though, the amounts are not specified in the state's vehicle code .An unattended motor vehicle shall not include an unattended locked motor vehicle with the engine running after being started by a remote starter system.” - The State Journal Register

So there you have it. Shut the car off, roll down the windows a bit and deal with the temp when you get back into the car. Leaving the car running, with the air conditioning on...Illegal.

So what's the penalty for this? It simply says, "fines."