Palatine, IL Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

Section 22-84(b) of the Palatine Village Code separates a list of named, prohibited plants from the general one-foot height rule that governs ordinary grass and weeds elsewhere in the same section. Two categories are singled out. First, any species classified as a noxious or exotic weed under the Illinois Noxious Weed Law and the Illinois Exotic Weed Act is declared a nuisance in the village, and it is unlawful to let such a weed spread or to plant one, except within certified wetlands or areas adjacent to waters of the United States.

Second, the code names nine species outright: jimson weed, burdock, ragweed, thistle, cocklebur, poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac and barberry bush. Any of these found growing on any lot or tract in the village is a declared nuisance, and the property owner may not permit the plant to grow or remain, regardless of its height. That is a stricter standard than the one-foot cutoff that applies to ordinary lawn grass and non-listed weeds under subsection (c) of the same section: a single jimson weed or barberry bush violates the code no matter how short it is.

Enforcement follows the same notice-and-abatement path as the rest of Sec. 22-84: the village manager or designee serves written notice on the owner and any responsible party, and if the plant is not removed the village can abate it and bill the cost, with unpaid bills becoming liens after 60 days under the lien procedure in subsections (f) and (g).