HB 4907 background

For years, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation and the League of Illinois Bicyclists have been looking for a legislative fix to Boub v. Wayne, a 1998 Illinois Supreme Court decision. The 4-3 ruling held that local governments are liable for bicyclists' safety due to road condition only on streets marked or signed as a bike route. This:

1. discriminates against those who bicycle either by choice or necessity and
2. creates a disincentive for agencies to provide on-road safety improvements for bicyclists (sample results at http://www.bikelib.org/boubcase/disincentivelist03.htm).

The result has been a very complicated, thorny liability issue unique to Illinois. A resolution that restores a safe cycling environment is caught between battles among trial lawyers and local government risk managers.

In 2005, our HB2390 bill passed the House but lost a Senate committee vote because of local government opposition. Many believed (despite specific language to the contrary) that they would be liable for: 1) upgrading and retrofitting all roadways to bicycle standards; and 2) minor surface defects that would only be harmful only to a bike. This year's bill, HB4907, was written by local governments, led by the Village of Skokie, that are seeking to address these concerns so they can provide bike lanes and routes without incurring inappropriate liability. CBF and LIB support HB4907. The Northwest Municipal Conference, an organization of Chicago suburbs, voted 24-4 to support the bill after an in-depth examination of what the bill really says.

HB4907 does NOT burden local governments with new expenses or maintenance requirements. Restoring a fair "duty of care" to bicyclists does not force local governments to maintain roads to a higher standard than they already do. It merely makes them equally responsible to bicyclists for poor road conditions that are dangerous to motor vehicle drivers. And history in Illinois and the country has shown this to be a minimal liability risk.

The Bill allows Illinois communities to create safe, friendly bike routes: signed bike routes and marked bike lanes are safer for bicyclists than roadways in general. HB4907 once again allows local governments to provide them without their (often exaggerated) concerns about the liability disincentive.

More background:
Last year's HB2390 - http://www.bikelib.org/boubcase/BoubNote040905.pdf
Also, pages 4 and 5 of http://www.bikelib.org/newsltrs/2005q4fal.pdf

Latest bill update.