4th Of July Fireworks In Illinois: What's Legal, What's Not

The 4th of July is just around the corner, and many local police departments are reminding residents to leave the fireworks to the professionals or face hefty fines. And, with the exception of mostly novelty items, they're illegal to purchase or use in the State of Illinois. While each municipality has its own fireworks ordinance, the state fire marshal is clear when it comes to pyrotechnics: leave it to the professionals.

Based on data provided by hospitals across Illinois, the state fire marshal's office reports 181 fireworks-related injuries throughout the state during the four-week period including the 4th of July. Causing the most injuries (42) were mortars, followed by sparklers, which injured 29 people statewide. Most injuries affected hands (64) and fingers (39), accounting for 103 injuries. Head/face injuries and eye injuries tied for second with 34 each, followed closely by injuries to arms at 33. Second-degree burns accounted for 73 of the 181 injuries.

Before you head to Indiana to buy fireworks for the 4th, keep in mind that the Illinois Pyrotechnic Use Act prohibits the sale, possession and use of consumer fireworks — and what's legal to purchase across state lines could net you up to a year in prison and a $2,500 fine once you cross back into Illinois. Nationwide, fireworks including M-80s and cherry bombs (anything containing more than 50 milligrams of “pyrotechnic composition") are banned.

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What's illegal?

In Illinois, prohibited fireworks include, but are not limited to:

• Hand held fireworks
• Bottle rockets
• Firecrackers of any size or type
• Sky rockets
• Roman candles
• Chasers
• Buzz bombs
• Ground items other than those identified as Approved Consumer Fireworks
• Helicopters
• Missiles
• Pin wheels or any other twirling device whether on the ground or mounted above the ground
• Planes
• Sky Lanterns, the type of balloon which requires fire underneath to propel same

What's legal?

The fireworks you can purchase and use in Illinois — unless you're a professional with a permit — are pretty limited. Certain novelty fireworks are unregulated, meaning the sale and use of those items is permitted at all times, but under the Pyrotechnic Use Act municipalities have the authority to prohibit the sale and use of sparklers on public property. According to the state fire marshal, permitted novelties include:

• snake or glow worm pellets;
• smoke devices;
• trick noisemakers known as "party poppers," "booby traps," "snappers," "trick matches," "cigarette loads," and "auto burglar alarms;"
• sparklers;
• toy pistols, toy canes, toy guns, or other devices in which paper or plastic caps containing twenty-five hundredths grains or less of explosive compound are used, provided they are so constructed that the hand cannot come in contact with the cap when in place for the explosion; and
• toy pistol paper or plastic caps that contain less than twenty hundredths grains of explosive mixture.

Image via Patch file