Area towns show mixed compliance to fireworks crackdown

Two area police departments during the Fourth of July weekend tactfully enforced new local laws to crack down on illegal fireworks.

While Carol Stream was quieter than previous years, Aurora was just as busy.

Carol Stream police officers ticketed 17 people on Friday and one person the next day, Police Chief Rick Willing said.

In early June, Carol Stream village trustees passed an ordinance that lets police officers write a $250 ticket to anyone caught with fireworks. If the ticket isn't paid within 10 days, the scofflaws will be required to attend a court hearing and pay a fine ranging from $500 to $1,000.

Aurora officials passed a similar law in May that allows officers to write $250 fines to anyone caught with illegal fireworks. The fines increase by $100 increments for repeat offenders each time they're caught.

Willing said tickets were never issued before in Carol Stream because a local law wasn't in effect. This year wasn't nearly as busy.

"There were still quite a lot of fireworks, but I don't think it was to the extent that it has been in previous years," he said. "It was sporadic and not as constant as it has been in the past."

Aurora police spokesman Dan Ferrelli couldn't determine if the number of calls changed, but said there were many.

"We did, as usual, answer a lot of calls for illegal fireworks," he said, "and we investigated them as best as we could."

Carol Stream police notified residents about the new ordinance throughout June.

Usually, the department gets complaints throughout the weekend. This year, it hasn't gotten any complaints since Saturday.

"From the perspective of the residents," Willing said, "it appears that it worked."

Although fireworks are prohibited in Illinois, police often have a hard time enforcing the law because of the sheer volume of complaints they receive during the Fourth of July holiday.