Chief Switzer Reminds If It Goes Boom, it is Illegal in Illinois

As the 4^th of July holiday nears, Monmouth Police Chief Joe Switzer reminds residents that fireworks in Illinois are illegal:

“The bottle rockets, the firecrackers, and any of the bigger ordinance that you shoot up in the sky and is an actual firework, all of that stuff is illegal in the state of Illinois. The only things that are legal in Illinois are the low end things that most people don’t find fun, the sparklers, the little snake things, the little smoke devices, those are legal in the state of Illinois. One of the big things with fireworks are injuries that occur mostly around July 4^th. 44 percent of burn injuries that go into the emergency rooms around the 4^th of July are caused by fireworks and one third of those injuries are of kids between the ages of 10 and 14 years old.”

Fireworks in the City of Monmouth from Citizen’s Lake will be launched at dusk on Thursday, July 4^th.