Elgin fireworks crackdown showing early results

Editor's note: This story has been changed to correct the number of illegal fireworks citations Elgin police handed out the week of June 18 to 24. The correct number is one citation.

Elgin's extra early crackdown on illegal fireworks in the city is resulting in either less actual use of fireworks or less willingness to report it to police, officials said.

During her Friday morning radio show, Police Chief Ana Lalley reported a 59% decrease in fireworks complaints so far this year.

This month, police sent reminders to past offenders and heavily marketed an earlier-than-usual emphasis on the potential $750 penalty for anyone caught using fireworks without a permit in the city. And, extra patrols targeting areas that have seen fireworks use in recent years began June 18.

Numbers seem to indicate a preventive effect from the patrols, or a new reluctance to report neighbors using fireworks. During the week of June 18 to 24 last year, the department received 164 fireworks complaints. Through that same week this year, the department received 68 complaints.

"It's really hard to capture why things were happening the way they did last year because we've never had the extra element of a pandemic," Lalley said. "This year, how or why this decrease is happening, I do not know, but it is encouraging."

Fireworks calls can take up a significant amount of time for the department. There were 930 fireworks complaints in 2020.

That said, catching people in the act can be tricky, Lalley said. Of the 68 fireworks complaints in the past seven days, officers handed out one ticket. Lalley said police couldn't locate any fireworks or any people with fireworks on 82% of the calls, which is why residents need to call the police as soon as possible, Lalley said.

"I know people will say, 'You have all these complaints but not citations.' That's why," she said.