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Bad news for Illinois cyclists

Efforts to overturn the chilling effects of the Illinois Supreme Court's Boub v. Township of Wayne ruling appear to be dead during the 2006 session of the Illinois General Assembly.

Here's what the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation has to say on the subject:

Rep. Elaine Nekritz has informed Chicagoland Bicycle Federation that House Bill 4907 does not have the votes to move forward in the Illinois House. The bill, drafted by the village of Skokie and strongly supported by the Northwest Municipal Conference, passed out of the House Local Government Committee in early February on a close 6-4 vote. The bill was a genuine attempt to combine sound public policy encouraging safe bicycling with a reasonable liability burden for local governments. Efforts by Skokie Mayor George Van Dusen and his legal staff were skilled and heroic. It is unfortunate that the effort was never fairly considered.

Reactionary opponents blitzed the bill with same set of false accusations used against previous proposals without regard to the new content and intent of House Bill 4907. Thanks to CBF member calls and faxes: most legislators who supported bicycling last year held. Unfortunately, we were not able to hold our narrow margin of support.

The Illinois Municipal League and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley were major factors in killing this bill. I do understand their fears about litigation, given the current climate of tort reform prevalent in Illinois. Cook, Madison and St. Clair counties have been painted as "judicial hellholes" by the American Tort Reform Association. That group contends "Illinois's litigious environment is making doctors and businesses shy away from entering the state, resulting in both a medical liability crisis and a suppressed economy."

I think their fears are exaggerated, but I also understand how politics works. The reality is that state legislators are more apt to listen to municipal leaders than to cyclists.

Until the political environment changes in Illinois enough to get this legislation passed, my hope is that municipal, township and county road departments will make a commitment to upgrade the quality of the roads. Many of these upgrades can make the roads more suitable for cyclists.

Madison County, to its credit, already does that. The roads the county maintains near urban areas have fairly wide shoulders suitable for cycling, and the roads in rural areas are wide enough to handle two lanes of vehicles plus cyclists who are following the rules of the road. St. Clair County-maintained roads are a mixed bag. Many of its roads in urban areas don't have shoulders suitable for bicyclists, and many of its rural roads are rough or narrow.

I think townships in those counties make a legitimate effort to maintain their roads as best they can, but they simply don't have the financial resources to make the roads as wide or smooth as many vehicle operators would like.

As development continues in Madison and St. Clair counties, we cyclists will need to work with local governments to make sure the roads are suitable for both motor vehicles and bicycles.

Roger 0 comments 12:09 PM