Do you guys know if it is legal to at least recover family members on a highway? I am in IL.
Not in all but IN MOST areas of the country if a person is "Stuck" or otherwise disabled on a public right of way then a properly licensed, bonded, and insured towing service must be used to "Recover" them.
In simple words; If a vehicle on a public road or right of way (The shoulder of the road) runs into a ditch or snow bank or simply pulls off onto a soft shoulder and becomes stuck, a "REAL" Towing service MUST by law be used.
I know on no jurisdiction with such a law that provides an exception if it is your Wife, Mother, Father, Son or any other "Family" member.
Assuming it is a real family member the LEO "MIGHT" choose to over look the incident but they would be fully within their providence to halt the operation, issue citations all around and call an approved wrecker service.
Now if the "Incident" is occurring on private land, not on a public right of way AND DID NOT START ON A PUBLIC RIGHT OF WAY (Meaning it is not a vehicle that went out of control and left the public right of way and traversed onto private land - Also to include a vehicle was on purpose driven off the public right of way using something other than a recognized exit from said right of way (Like a driveway)*** Then anybody that has the desire to attempt a "Recovery" is free to do so.
*** That part means is intended to cover a case "Like" this; An individual is driving along the interstate and sees that traffic is dead stopped. Said individual sees that there is a hole in the interstate bordering fence that leads onto a property that has a street on the other side of it. Said individual departs the paved road surface, crosses the shoulder and any remaining ground to reach the fence (Normally the boundary of the right of way) and crosses onto the private land and then gets stuck.
In this instance, even though it was not a loss of control or other "Accident" that lead to the vehicle ending up on private property the vehicle at question would lawfully be required to hire a real tow service to affect said recovery.
In this case, might you get away with a "Private recovery"? Probably. Unless of course you left obvious tracks from the right of way onto the private property, or a LEO saw you in the process of doing it. In either case the driver will likely be cited for any one of several infractions and "Professional recovery" would be required.
There are (depending on the jurisdiction) very stiff penalties (Up to
vehicle impoundment and or
fines of up to $1,500) for a non-licensed individual and or a non-licensed vehicle attempting to make a recovery from/on/across a public right of way. Of course there is always room for the LEO to use "Officer Discretion" when deciding how to handle the situation but caution and common sense would certainly be the order of the day.
Generally speaking, the more urban the area, the less likely the LEO will be willing to overlook it (Likely citations for all involved) and the more rural the more apt he is to overlook it (No citations). The OP of this question lives in The Peoples Republic of Illinois, I would be willing to bet that there are not many areas in that state not covered by rules/laws restricting recovery to only licensed operators.
Additionally, ANY use of drugs or alcohol by anyone in the general area is almost guaranteed to be bad news for all parties. Further, the more professional in appearance and behavior of all parties the less likely citations are to be issued. Show "The man" some respect and you have a chance of being ok. Disrespect him and, well, do you really need me to tell you that things most likely will not end up to your maximum liking??
Am I a lawyer? No. But you might want to keep in mind that I used to do recovery professionally (Not towing/hauling, recovery only) and have had just a bit of experience with this area of the process.
And yes, I have sen lots of guys fined for "Illegal recovery". In fact, on one occasion, I was called by LEO to recover the "Rescuer" and the "Stuckee" both since they had both become badly stuck. The rescuer came out first and while I was working on the stuckee a licensed towing company hauled off the "Illegal recovery vehicle" to police impound.
If your going to be running around pulling people out of ditches and whatnot, I would
HIGHLY recommend you at least consult a lawyer who practices in the jurisdiction you plan to perform these activities in to determine exactly what is and is not legal activity in your area. $100 spent in an air conditioned office sure beats vehicle impoundment and $1,500 in fines...
I would also
HIGHLY recommend that you consult your insurance company and advise them of what you intend to do ans see exactly what is and is not covered in those specific circumstances. (What happens when a cable breaks and hurts or kills somebody, are you covered??)
Your mileage may vary.
(KEEPS ME OFF THE STREETS) 
John
My 5 
worth.
, U can be sued like i said maybe u did not read or understand my post, as for protecting your family U should always do that first, I do not see why that is here, but like mine its your opinion and welcome to it, 
and as for taking advise from a web site , thats what we mostly do here, and so are u, as U are posting here also, the question was asked so the question is getting ideas , opinions and answers. like is done in every other thread. We tow bar and tow all the time in this hobby, there are grey areas, and some take chances, I will say I have been in an accident with a deuce tow barred to my other deuce , a car slammed into the front of my truck, like i said a glance from the officer saw no red flags... meaning all was neat and hooked correct and was not even mentioned after that, why because u can do it, U can tow bar your car behind your camper too, do u need extra ins ? maybe maybe not thats still up to the individual.So with all said i actually have more than an opinon on this, I have on the job training, 
![[thumbzup]](https://www.steelsoldiers.com/images/smilies/icon_smile_thumzup.gif "Thumbs Up [thumbzup]"){kind=icon}
... like everything else, its up to U and just use common sense, for those who are sooo adamant about this, yeesh, thats great u wont do it, just dont tell me i cant, yes I can, and have , and will, all the best again,oh fyi be careful telling people things like there are laws about that or this , state the law u mention, or post it as an opinion like it is, 