Cell Phone Ban a Bust?

By Margaret Lyons in News on Dec 19, 2007 10:45PM

The thousands of Chicagoans who have received citations for refusing to wear an ugly head set while driving may feel a bit at ease today. The Law Offices of Blake Horwitz is filing a class action lawsuit against the city, Mayor Daley, and several police officers for illegally ticketing thousands of drivers in violation of the cell phone ban since its inception over two years ago.

Apparently, the law required the city to post signs all over the place telling us we’re not allowed to call our BFF while driving. And since they are clearly nowhere to be seen, the law was never properly enforced. The lawsuit hopes to refund the money to everyone that has been issued a citation.

As of September 2007 the city has accrued over two million dollars in revenue from these fines. Horwitz believes that “[t]he City is simply trying to earn more money given the absence of a balanced budget."

Now this is no reason to start playing snood on your iPhone while driving, especially during winter weather advisory season. Just expect some signs popping up over the next year. And Tom Tunney doing a happy dance somewhere outside city hall today. [NBC, Trib] — Jacy Wojcik