As my grandfather used to say, "If you outlaw roosters, only outlaws will have roosters." At least I think that was something he used to say...maybe not. But, if he did say things like that, he'd be looking toward Aurora when he said it. Which he probably didn't. 

Forgive my grandfather and his home-spun colloquialisms for knocking me off track for a moment, but as you well know, rooster talk can really get people's blood up. Particularly people who live in Kane County, Illinois.

It seems there has been a growing chorus of complaints in Kane County about noisy roosters disturbing people's sleep, so the county started to research ways to enact a ban.

From the Daily Herald:

The Kane County Farm Bureau, asked how to address cock-a-doodle-doo complaints, suggested a ban on roosters and their boisterous cousins -- peacocks and guinea fowl. County board members took a unanimous vote in support of the ban Tuesday.

The ban is immediate and applies to all property of less than 5 acres. Staff members said the 5-acre minimum arose because state law prevents the county's nuisance laws from applying to farmland larger than 5 acres.

The Daily Herald piece also points out that chicken possession is fairly common in Kane County, Elgin, St. Charles, and around 20 Chicago-area towns. However, those other places banned roosters where Kane County didn't. Until now.

Existing rooster owners who live on less than 5 acres have an avenue to maintaining their status quo. They can request a zoning exemption from the county board. If neighbors don't object to the roosters at a public hearing, the roosters would most likely receive a stamp of approval.

Mark Van Kerkhoff, the county's development director hinted such a process might be unnecessary. The county addresses animal nuisances only when made aware of the violation by a complaint.

"We're not generally driving around at 4 a.m. looking for roosters," Van Kerkhoff said.

Or, maybe they are out at 4am, and they're just trying to lure those outlaw Foghorn Leghorn keepers into a false sense of security.

So, how bad can having roosters hanging around the neighborhood be? Well, see how much of this you can take before hitting the stop button:

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