# Why are fireworks illegal in Illinois? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 9, 2004, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322 "2004-07-09T18:09:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/21 "2004-07-10T17:31:57Z")
It’s a state where politicians have placated the busybody cowards that vote for them. It’s like Prohibition was the result of busybody moralists being placated. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/22 "2004-07-10T17:41:03Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > In Sangamon county, you have to have a display permit. Very few people buy them, and vendors don’t generally check buyers for them. Until recently, law enforcement looked the other way. That all changed about two years ago. One-eyed Jack went to prison for not checking for display permits. (I think he got, and served, two years). > > This year, as last year, there were police stings and arrests and fines and prison terms. There have been police stings, if not prison terms, for a lot longer than two years now. My ex-girlfriend work at one of the fireworks stands for a number of years, so I got to see something of what went on. Every year they’d send undercover law enforcement around to all the stands to try to buy fireworks without a permit, and there’d be reports on the local TV news and in the paper about which stands got caught and which didn’t. The stands did have some “kiddie” fireworks that don’t require a permit, but for the bigger stuff, they had to be real careful who they sold to. They’d sell to people they knew, but basically anyone they didn’t know they asked to see a permit. Every year the (county, I think) authorities cracked down a little more on illegal sales, charged a little more for permits, maybe reduced the number of days before the 4th the stands could be open, made it a little harder to buy and sell, and the number of stands around the city has dwindled from maybe 8-12 several years ago to 4 this past year (one of which was One-Eyed Jack’s, IIRC), and yes, there may not be even those next year. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/23 "2004-07-10T18:44:25Z")
Are there any statistics showing that states which ban fireworks have less fireworks related deaths, injuries, or property damage than states which have it legalized? ---
**Author:** ![Zagadka](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zagadka/32/7272_2.png) [@Zagadka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zagadka)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/24 "2004-07-10T19:06:42Z")
I know they’re banned here because they are such a fire hazard… but you know California, goes up in smoke every summer/fall anyway. I remember when they were legal, though. Neighbor’s house partly burned down from one. Remember my uncle sitting there drinking Coors handing out fireworks while it burned. Good times? O\_o ---
**Author:** ![Live\_Better\_Electrically](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@Live\_Better\_Electrically](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Live_Better_Electrically)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/25 "2004-07-11T00:09:13Z")
> [@Cluricaun](#): > > Why are fireworks illegal in Illinois for use by adults? Do you really need to be told? Because you could shoot your eye out! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2004, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/26 "2004-07-11T01:30:43Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > Oooh, when’s the best time and place to see them? We’ve never gone. Would standing on the el platform get a good view? Sorry about your sleep though. The Chinese calendar is lunar, I believe, so the parade doesn’t fall on the same day every year. This year it was on a very snowy Saturday early afternoon, in February I think - I’d actually forgotten about it, but stumbled upon it by accident while running errands and took a detour. The actual parade is well worth it; the merchants string huge, thick ropes of firecrackers from the front of the shops, and you can’t imagine the noise as they go off hundreds adnd thousands in sequence. The El platform might keep you out of the worst of the smoke, but you’d miss the dragon dance. You really want to be in the middle of it all, at least for a little while. I’ve never been to the one in the big Chinatown on Cermak, though; it’s supposed to be pretty intense. The stuff that the kids shoot off isn’t particularly pretty to watch, so you aren’t missing much in that regard. These are fireworks more for the noise effect than for the beautiful light show. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/27 "2004-07-12T14:45:29Z")
As it so happens, I was visiting my GF in Sangamon County, IL over the holiday, and I saw the stands that **Thrillhouse** mentioned. I had no idea that fireworks were even illegal in IL… On a related note, I read in a Dayton newspaper on the way out that it is legal to purchase fireworks in Ohio, but illegal to use them in the state. Can any Ohio Dopers confirm that? ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/28 "2004-07-12T18:29:31Z")
> [@](#): > > Cluricaun: > Why are fireworks illegal in Illinois for use by adults? Because they are dangerous, and have no useful purpose (other than entertainment) to justify the risk. > [@](#): > > The dangers presented by the possession and use of small, non-professional type fireworks is not enough justify the usage and business opportunities and tax income benefits for the state, Not to forget the personal liberties of making decisions for ones self. The dangers are well documented. You haven’t provided any evidence for your assertion that the danger is “not enough to justify” banning them. The fact that the state would benefit financially is not necessarily sufficient reason to risk death, injury, and property damage. They could probably benefit financially by legalizing crack cocaine and taxing it, but that doesn’t neccessarily mean they _should_. Here are some statistics: [http://www.silive.com/living/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1088776138283870.xml](http://www.silive.com/living/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1088776138283870.xml) > [@](#): > > Donovan cited statistics compiled by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to warn of the dangers of setting off firecrackers, M-80s, M-100s, Roman candles, and other types of explosives. > > From 1995 to 1999, according to the NFPA, nine people per year were killed in fires started by fireworks, while seven people per year were killed directly by fireworks. > > In 1999, there were 24,200 reported fires started by fireworks. These fires resulted in 12 civilian deaths, 55 civilian injuries, and $17.2 million in direct property damage. > > In 2002, 8,800 people injured by fireworks were treated in a hospital emergency room. Here’s the source data from the NFPA website: [http://www.nfpa.org/Research/NFPAFactSheets/Fireworks/fireworks.asp#b](http://www.nfpa.org/Research/NFPAFactSheets/Fireworks/fireworks.asp#b) Now I’m sure someone will be quick to point out something along the lines of “Well, more people are injured in automobiles, and they don’t ban them” or something similar. But of course, such comparisons are inapt, because fireworks do not have the necessary function that automobiles have. You can’t just look at the danger; you have to weigh the danger against the utility. For example, you can die from eating poisoned food, but it makes no sense to ban food, because it’s necessary. > [@ParentalAdvisory](#): > > Right, but the OP’s question was “Why are fireworks illegal in Illinois for use by adults?” You then touted off something about the damage kids can do with them. My point was that kids can do damage with anything, and that there are plenty of things that are illegal for kids, but are legal for adults, that they can get access to. While I partially agree with your conclustion, your reasoning is flawed here. Just because _some_ harmful things are legal for adults does not mean that _all_ harmful things must be legal for adults. Legislators are not required to cure _all_ evils in order to cure _one_ evil. Having said that, though, I don’t believe anti-fireworks laws are _only_ for the purpose of preventing children from getting fireworks. Adults can and do cause accidents as well. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/29 "2004-07-12T19:06:22Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Now I’m sure someone will be quick to point out something along the lines of “Well, more people are injured in automobiles, and they don’t ban them” or something similar. But of course, such comparisons are inapt, because fireworks do not have the necessary function that automobiles have. You can’t just look at the danger; you have to weigh the danger against the utility. Not to detract from your basic argument, which I broadly agree with, but…there is no real “utility” in smoking tobacco, and heaps of danger. Yet any attempt to ban tobacco outright would be met with howls of derision. Much as we hate to admit it, there _are_ financial and political considerations at work: the benefit to a “fireworks tax” would be negligible, and a lot fewer people would be upset about no longer being able to fire off bottle rockets on the 4th than would be upset by having their smokes taken away. Yes, it is “rational” to ban fireworks because of the dangers presented by their use and abuse…but have you ever known legislatures to act rationally? ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/30 "2004-07-12T19:44:41Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Not to detract from your basic argument, which I broadly agree with, but…there is no real “utility” in smoking tobacco, and heaps of danger. Yet any attempt to ban tobacco outright would be met with howls of derision. Good point, and one that I left out. The _practicality_ of the situation is also a factor. Look at Prohibition. It didn’t end because the government suddenly had a change of heart and decided that alcohol was good; it ended because it didn’t work. Alcohol is too ingrained in our culture to ban. And the same goes with cigarettes. People would never take it lying down. > [@](#): > > Much as we hate to admit it, there _are_ financial and political considerations at work: the benefit to a “fireworks tax” would be negligible, and a lot fewer people would be upset about no longer being able to fire off bottle rockets on the 4th than would be upset by having their smokes taken away. Oh, I agree. Those are definitely factors; I only said financial consideration do not _necessarily_ make a given course of action the right one. I didn’t say they don’t have an influence. > [@](#): > > Yes, it is “rational” to ban fireworks because of the dangers presented by their use and abuse…but have you ever known legislatures to act rationally? Well, that would seem to be the obvious reason why various legislatures ban fireworks; I am neither defending nor condemning it. Are you suggesting another reason? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2004, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322/31 "2004-07-12T20:03:51Z")
> [@blowero](#): > > Well, that would seem to be the obvious reason why various legislatures ban fireworks; I am neither defending nor condemning it. Are you suggesting another reason? Oh, I don’t think we disagree. I just think that, if you’re only weighing the dangers of a product, it would make more sense to ban tobacco. But, as you rightly introduce the factor of “practicality,” the legislatures’ actions do make “rational” sense in that light. It would be interesting to examine the reasons for the proposal to ban fireworks in Illinois, and the reasons behind the relaxation of fireworks laws in Pennsylvania. When I was growing up in PA, you couldn’t buy anything stronger than a sparkler…now it seems to be a big industry on the PA border. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-fireworks-illegal-in-illinois/254322.md?page=1)