Illinois is nicknamed the “Prairie State,” but the city of Springfield doesn’t want Wolfgang Arterberry to have an actual prairie as his front yard.
“Overgrown grass and weeds throughout entire property must be mowed,” reads a letter dated July 9 to Arterberry and his wife, Gina, from Dalton Kinison, a housing inspector with the city. “The above-referenced violation must be removed or abated by July 16. Failure to remove or abate the violation by the date set forth herein may result in a referral to Administrative Court and assessment of a fine against you in the amount of not less than $150.”
Arterberry stood in his front yard Aug. 4 and told an Illinois Times reporter he had yet to hear more from the city. For the 38-year-old native of Edinburg, the absence of any reply from the city to his vigorous responses seemed to be more galling than the letter itself.
“Every native plant from Illinois, I planted here. I love Illinois,” said Arterberry, who works as a compliance officer for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. “I’m backed up by a law in Illinois to be able to do this. I would not be (acting) to garner attention to it if the city was not attempting to destroy the front yard portion without due process or legal standing.”
According to the Illinois Homeowners’ Landscaping Act of 2024, homeowner associations are barred from placing comprehensive bans on homeowners from “planting Illinois-native species on private residential lawns.” Arterberry, who lives on Churchill Road, is in the Jefferson Park subdivision on Springfield’s west side.
The law hasn’t stopped two letters of complaint from neighbors of Arterberry in the last two years, which by law are made anonymous to the public – and to Arterberry himself. After the first letter of complaint nearly two years ago, the city sent a notice of violation but did nothing to follow up. Arterberry thought that would be the end of the situation, until he received the July 9 letter.
He has since called and emailed the city voicing his opposition and citing the IHLA Act of 2024, but he said he hasn’t gotten a response. Neither has Illinois Times, whose efforts to reach Kinison were unsuccessful, as were calls to thehousing division manager for the Office of Public Works, Mitch Flynn.
“We’re in limbo. Technically, we’re over my time (to comply), but they won’t respond to my emails. I’ve reported them to the inspector general for the city, and the state’s attorney, because we have laws in Illinois to protect your right to have native landscaping,” Arterberry said.
Arterberry can understand why some neighbors might, at first glance, think his is a neglected, overgrown front yard. But that is far from the case. He said he spends a vast majority of his free time tending to the yard and the rest of his one-acre property. He said he has 70 species of native plants growing and uses a deer fence to protect the yard so the prairie can go to seed and serve as stock for his adjacent acre of land.
“My property serves as a watershed collection point for our neighborhood so I wanted to do what I could to mitigate that while providing for the native wildlife that live here,” Arterberry said. “We have deer, turkey, fox, coyote, owl, hawk and many more native Illinois wildlife that live on my property. Dozens of wild bird species nest and raise young here. We have an ephemeral pond, upland prairie, lowland prairie and timbered and open wetland. It is a perfect microcosm of Illinois native potential.”
Arterberry and his wife bought the house in 2020. Growing up on a family farm, he got his love for all things botanical from his parents, but especially his grandfather in Carbondale, who he said won many ribbons for his massive flowers, vegetables and fruit at the DuQuoin State Fair. Along with all the flowers and plants, Arterberry also grows food on his prairie lawn, such as berries, eggplant, cucumber, corn, pumpkin, peppers and tomatoes.
In the winter, he does a lot of woodworking and removing invasive bush honeysuckle around the property.
Now, if only he could keep going about his business without the threat of fines or an unexpected mow from the city – which is often what happens when property owners fail to respond to notices of violation. The maximum length for grasses on residential property is 10 inches.
Arterberry said after he received the first violation notice from the city two years ago he called and spoke with a woman at Public Works.
“She apologized and said they do this to see who’s the lazy folk who let their lawn grow without mowing, who do it intentionally,” Arterberry said. “She offered to have someone come over and look at everything and let me help them learn why this is done the way it is. They never followed up, but they did leave me alone for two years.”
Carey Smith, who manages the Enos Park Neighborhood Gardens and has been active in community efforts to create native pollinator patches, said she had a similar experience. Smith’s front yard is along the heavily traveled North Sixth Street corridor, and she also received a violation notice from the city a few years ago.
However, Smith said once she invited the housing inspector for that area to visit her property and show her where any weeds were present, she hasn’t had any further problems.
“It is nice for people to know that what you’re doing is for a purpose,” Smith said. “I love front yard pollinator gardens. I think they are so beneficial for the ecosystem, including humans.”
Smith said she did register her yard through the University of Illinois Extension’s Pollinator Pockets program and received a sign to display to let passers-by know the plants are there intentionally.
Arterberry said when he received his most recent violation notice he tried to contact the housing inspector, but ended up speaking with the same woman as before.
“She said the pictures she had were of just weeds, and that they had to be mowed,” he said.
Arterberry cut the call short and said he would consult a lawyer about his rights. He’s been waiting for the city’s next move since.
“I can’t be the only person who is getting these letters. I’m just the angriest this time,” Arterberry said. “This is a hill I will die on.”
This article appears in August 13-19, 2026.
