I am not a LEO, nor do I play one on TV. I did, however, stay at a Holiday Inn last night.
AFIK, tracers are legal in IL. I did a search of the entire IL code for "tracers" and had no hits.
ARTICLE 24. DEADLY WEAPONS
(720 ILCS 5/24‑1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24‑1)
(Text of Section from P.A. 94‑72)
Sec. 24‑1. Unlawful Use of Weapons.
(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of weapons when he knowingly:
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(7) Sells, manufactures, purchases, possesses or
carries:
(iii) any bomb, bomb‑shell, grenade, bottle or
other container containing an explosive substance of over one‑quarter ounce for like purposes, such as, but not limited to, black powder bombs and Molotov cocktails or artillery projectiles; or
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(11) Sells, manufactures or purchases any explosive bullet. For purposes of this paragraph (a) "explosive bullet" means the projectile portion of an ammunition cartridge which contains or carries an explosive charge which will explode upon contact with the flesh of a human or an animal. "Cartridge" means a tubular metal case having a projectile affixed at the front thereof and a cap or primer at the rear end thereof, with the propellant contained in such tube between the projectile and the cap; or
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(720 ILCS 5/24‑2.1) (from Ch. 38, par. 24‑2.1)
Sec. 24‑2.1. Unlawful use of firearm projectiles.
(a) A person commits the offense of unlawful use of firearm projectiles when he or she knowingly manufactures, sells, purchases, possesses, or carries any armor piercing bullet, dragon's breath shotgun shell, bolo shell, or flechette shell.
For the purposes of this Section:
"Armor piercing bullet" means any handgun bullet or handgun ammunition with projectiles or projectile cores constructed entirely (excluding the presence of traces of other substances) from tungsten alloys, steel, iron, brass, bronze, beryllium copper or depleted uranium, or fully jacketed bullets larger than 22 caliber designed and intended for use in a handgun and whose jacket has a weight of more than 25% of the total weight of the projectile, and excluding those handgun projectiles whose cores are composed of soft materials such as lead or lead alloys, zinc or zinc alloys, frangible projectiles designed primarily for sporting purposes, and any other projectiles or projectile cores that the U. S. Secretary of the Treasury finds to be primarily intended to be used for sporting purposes or industrial purposes or that otherwise does not constitute "armor piercing ammunition" as that term is defined by federal law.
The definition contained herein shall not be construed to include shotgun shells.
"Dragon's breath shotgun shell" means any shotgun shell that contains exothermic pyrophoric mesh metal as the projectile and is designed for the purpose of throwing or spewing a flame or fireball to simulate a flame‑thrower.
"Bolo shell" means any shell that can be fired in a firearm and expels as projectiles 2 or more metal balls connected by solid metal wire.
"Flechette shell" means any shell that can be fired in a firearm and expels 2 or more pieces of fin‑stabilized solid metal wire or 2 or more solid dart‑type projectiles.
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(d) Sentence. A person convicted of unlawful use of armor piercing bullets shall be guilty of a Class 3 felony.
(Source: P.A. 92‑423, eff. 1‑1‑02.)