I've covered my pool for the last 3 years and I tend to agree with the cover it till the leaves are done and then uncover it. This way you can still add bleach if you need to and circulate the water with a submirsabel pump. I see your in Ill. I remember some pretty warm spells late in the year so alge could still be a problem.

The cover is nice because it keeps the light alge needs to grow down to a minimum.

Don't know if this helps you any, just adding my 2 cents.