Halloween is when the masks go on and candy fills the bag. Cities and towns regulating Halloween with trick-or-treating rules do so for safety, so you should check your local Halloween laws.
Many Illinois cities limit trick-or-treating to earlier hours, often between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. with some adding age limits for participants.
Some Halloween recommendations are well intentioned but odd. The Chicago Police Department recommends only or trick-or-treating during the day but also suggests trick or treaters wear light colored clothing, which would make the most sense at night.
In Belleville, trick-or-treating may take place between 5 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. and is restricted by ordinance to children at or below the eighth-grade level. The wearing of masks by anyone over the age of 12 without the express permission of the mayor or chief of police is prohibited on any day other than Halloween, so this fashion accessory may best be worn elsewhere.
For those making their rounds in the dusky hours, pint-sized ghouls and goblins should avoid any porches that are not lit up.
Public safety is important, but parents know their kids best and shouldn’t have to check with their local government over which hours are allowed to trick-or-treat. If someone doesn’t want to hand out candy at 8:45, they don’t need a city ordinance for the whole town.
Some studies show kids are spending as much as eight hours a day looking at a screen. Halloween is one day a year when they spend time outside in their community. Let’s not ruin that by telling them to go home at 8:30. Still, those on the hunt for free candy should be sure to know the rules of the game in case their city has bizarre Halloween rules.
