Illinois has adopted House Bill 1247, which puts an end to the uncertainty as to whether drivers around the state can use hand-held wireless telephones while driving. Under the bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn, a person may not operate a vehicle on a roadway while using…
The Illinois Appellate Court has upheld a $1.9 million Cook County jury verdict for injuries to a man who was riding his bike on a city street that was under construction. In July 2007, the city of Chicago was resurfacing an intersection, which altered the otherwise safe bicycle path. While under…
A bill signed into law by Illinois Gov. Patrick J. Quinn permits the Illinois Secretary of State to retroactively invalidate a driver’s license if the minor had a citation for which a disposition had not been rendered when the license was issued. In other words, a permit driver, 18 years old…
This case was brought before a jury panel twice. These were the facts: On Sept. 6, 2006, Michael Lynn was bicycling on the sidewalk facing eastbound on the southwest corner of 33rd Street and Wentworth Avenue in Chicago when he was struck by the defendant’s car driven by James Miller. Miller had been…
Thomas Miles, age 54, commuted to work regularly by bicycle. He was riding his bike northbound on California Avenue in Chicago on July 14, 2008 in the marked bike lane when he came upon a patch of wet cement in the street. The defendant Tai Plumbing had dug a 3-foot-wide trench across…
Bicyclist Christopher Olsen, 25, was riding his bike northbound on Dearborn between Monroe and Madison streets in downtown Chicago. He was traveling in the right curb lane when the defendant’s northbound Lexus Sedan made a right turn directly in front of him as he was trying to enter a parking…
Kristen Beauford was on her bicycle in the northbound bike lane at 100 S. Halsted in Chicago. The defendant, Nicolas Kapsoulos, was driving his car away from a Starbucks at that Chicago Greektown location. As Kapsoulos attempted to make a left turn onto northbound Halsted, he struck Kristen, who was…