Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Illinois

It depends on the other facts of the situation and what the "thing" is. If something is left on the side of the road and there is no way of identifying the owner, then the generally it is considered abandoned and its free to the first commer. If there is a way to determine who owns it then you are required by law to make a sincere effort to contact/find the person and return it. Which includes giving the "thing" to the police.

Illinois does have a law regarding "lost" property.

- In your case is the location public or private property, and if private are you a trespasser. That makes a difference because first dibs usually go to the owner where the property is found.

- Is the property lost, or could it be abandoned. There may be telltale facts such as how long it appears to have been there and how difficult it would be to identify the rightful owner.

- What is the apparent value (in Illinois the cutoff for how you are supposed to deal w/ property is $100!).

Here's the statute. It does not provide for criminal penalties, but if you're a trespasser, or if the owner wants to claim "theft", then there may be criminal consequences.

(765 ILCS 1020/0.01) (from Ch. 50, par. 0.01)

Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Estrays and Lost Property Act.