Nicole Virgil keeps her front lawn in Elmhurst neat and clean. Neighbors have no problem with the flowers, bushes and trees that line her stone-paved walkway. But somebody filed an anonymous complaint about her backyard vegetable garden in 2015, triggering a yearslong dispute that will reach the state Capitol on Monday. The Elmhurst City Council, which voted against Virgil and her husband in 2019, does not specifically ban the growing of potatoes, carrots, kale and other crops. Instead, the municipal code prohibits the plastic-covered hoop houses that gardeners use to keep those plants warm in the winter. Party tents, gazebos, trampoline houses, swing sets and even temporary ice rinks are fine. The city only cracks down on makeshift greenhouses that poke above the fence line, creating too much of a working-class vibe for the suburbanites in Elmhurst. The normal NIMBY mindset — not in my backyard — apparently means not in your backyard either. "City officials have tried to rationalize their decision by citing aesthetic standards," Virgil writes in a Tribune commentary. "But these standards are based on a historic model that connects lawns with wealth and suburban life, and denigrates food production as lowbrow." The proper way to get fruits and vegetables, neighbors have told Virgil, is to drive 1 mile north to Whole Foods. Yet Virgil has persisted in her agrarian ways, taking her fight to Springfield. Twin measures, Senate Bill 170 and House Bill 633, would block outright bans on vegetable gardens, while also prohibiting code enforcement that selectively targets gardening structures like hoop houses. Passage would represent a win for Virgil and other home gardeners across the state, yet the bills would allow cities and towns to maintain significant control. Local officials still could regulate neighborhoods using traditional zoning tools like height restrictions, setbacks and minimum ground coverage requirements. Homeowner association restrictions also would be allowed, along with rules against invasive species. Despite the compromises, Illinois would become a national leader in the local food movement. Currently, only Florida provides express protection for the right to grow food on private property.