Illinois Things That Feel Illegal But Aren’t (Winter Edition)

There are certain things you do during winter that feel wrong.  Like, you pause for a second and think, "Am I allowed to do this?"  You look around, and nobody stops you.  So you keep going!

Illinois winters come with their own unspoken rulebook, and most of it would confuse people from literally everywhere else.

Read More: Unwritten Winter Rules Every Rockford Resident Just Knows 

First up: Wearing shorts when it's 35 degrees.  Not only is this allowed, it's encouraged.  Especially if the sun is out.  Does this make sense?  No, but it's happening as we speak.

Second: Letting your car run while you scrape ice.  Technically, you shouldn't walk away from the car.  But also... have you tried scraping the windshield with number fingers and regret?  It feels illegal, but it's not.

Third: Driving with your windows down in the winter.  If it's snowing?  Absolutely not.  If it's 41 degrees and sunny in December?  Windows down.  Cops probably find it suspicious, but whatever.  This is literally our version of spring, I swear!

And finally: Layering wrong on purpose feels kind of questionable.  Coat unzipped.  Scarf nowhere to be found.  Gloves?  Don't know what those are.  Somehow we're fine, though!  We're built for this weather.  Illinois winters actually teach you confidence in very poor decisions.

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None of the above are actually illegal.  Well, maybe warming up your car while scraping ice.  I would double-check on that one.  But the rest just feel so, so, so wrong when they're not.  But hey, that's winter for ya in the Midwest.  Am I wrong?