Do You Really Have to Rake Leaves in Illinois?

As much as I love fall, the colors, the smells, the food, and the cooler temperatures, there’s one thing I dread every year: leaves. Raking and bagging them is just the worst. But do you really have to do it?

Leaf Laws Every Homeowner Should Know

I swear my house is a collection spot for all my neighbors’ leaves. Every leaf from every yard seems to land in mine. And while, yes, I do rake, it often feels like I’m doing this type of yard work daily instead of weekly. In Illinois, you actually don’t legally have to rake your leaves. In fact, there can even be benefits to leaving some of them.

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Illinois Leaf Laws You Should Know

You should remove thick layers of leaves, as thinner layers can be beneficial for your lawn. But no law in Illinois requires you to rake every single leaf each year.

In Quincy, it’s highly recommended that you rake your leaves as much as possible, but do your best not to rake or blow them into the streets. Doing so can affect storm drains, and it’s against city code to put leaves in the street.

Yard waste pick-up usually continues well into mid-December, so you have plenty of weekends to rake what you can and safely get rid of your leaves without breaking city code or violating the law.

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None of us really loves yard work, but there’s a good feeling, even if it’s only for a few hours, knowing your yard is clean and cleared of leaves. Then you can sit back, relax, and enjoy it…until next weekend when it’s time to do it all over again.