No, chopping down a cactus will not land you in jail under any “weird property law” in Illinois. Cacti are non-native to Illinois and absent from the state’s Exotic Weed Act list (525 ILCS 10), which regulates invasive plants like multiflora rose but imposes no penalties for removing non-listed species on private property.​
Myth Debunking
This claim mimics Arizona’s saguaro protections but has no Illinois equivalent; “dumb laws” lists fabricate it without citing statutes. No felony or jail risk exists for backyard cacti removal.​
Actual Property Laws
Illinois tree-cutting disputes fall under common law nuisance or trespass if damaging neighbors, requiring local permits for large specimens in urban areas. Invasive plant rules ban selling/planting listed exotics without IDNR permits, but cacti qualify as ornamental, freely removable on your land.​
Zoning or HOA rules might apply, not jail for cacti.
SOURCES
[1](https://extension.illinois.edu/sites/default/files/invasive_plant_species_regulated_by_the_illinois_exotic_weed_act.pdf)
[2](https://dnr.illinois.gov/content/dam/soi/en/web/dnr/adrules/documents/17-1100.pdf)
[3](https://www.nationalplantboard.org/uploads/1/3/6/7/136771235/illinois_rules_and_regulations.pdf)
[4](https://extension.illinois.edu/invasives/regulations)
[5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_psychoactive_cacti_by_country)
