CHICAGO (WBBM/IRN) - This seems to be the year for distracted driving laws...but now some Illinois officials want to put restrictions on walking while distracted.
Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White says his priority is to see that state lawmakers pass penalties for driving while distracted, but he says the proposal to ban the use of a cell phone while crossing the street was his idea.
Newsradio 780 talked to people walking along Michigan Avenue this morning and asked them what they thought about the ban.
"Are we a free society or what…you can’t do anything anymore," one pedestrian said. Another was too distracted while talking on his phone to stop and discuss the ban.
The bill sponsor, State Rep. Ken Dunkin (D-Chicago), has been roundly criticized for introducing the measure. White says it’s still a good idea, but he’ll push for a bill that only bans texting or chatting in the street in bigger cities in Illinois, such as Chicago and Aurora.
In Chicago it is illegal to talk on the phone while using a cell phone, however the measure is under scrutiny.
A class-action lawsuit filed against the city claims that people were illegally ticketed, because the City of Chicago never put up signs warning motorists about the law.
Drivers are fined $75 per talking while driving violation, and $200 if someone who is talking on a cell phone is involved in an accident. The city earned about $2 million from fines.
It is unclear how much walking talkers/texters could be fined if a ban is in fact passed.
President Obama, in his weekly radio address, tells Congress to act quickly and pass financial reform to prevent economy from sliding into another Depression.
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