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Michael Keating

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Chicago’s City Council passed legislation that will increase the penalty for parking in the bike lane and provide a platform for more enforcement of drivers blocking the city’s bike lanes. These recent changes to the Chicago Municipal Code provide that a driver can be fined $250 for stopping or parking in the bike lane. While the Code previously provided for the $250 fine, the prior version required a bicyclist to have been injured as a result of the blocked bike lane. With the amendment anyone blocking the bike lane could face a fine. In addition, the amendment provides for immediate towing and extends…
Continue Reading City of Chicago Stiffens Enforcement for Drivers Blocking Bike Lanes

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A normal commute home via the Milwaukee Avenue bike lane by a local cyclist was cut short when he was the victim of a “left hook” collision. This stretch of Milwaukee Avenue is nicknamed the “Hipster Highway” because of the thousands of bicyclists that ride the bicycle lane in this stretch through Chicago’s popular West Town community on a daily basis. The Milwaukee Avenue bicycle lane is the most heavily travelled and well-known bicycle lane in Chicago.Despite the video evidence and many key Chicago bike laws directly on point, the combination of the cyclist’s severe injuries combined with the driver’s…
Continue Reading Bicyclist’s Video Shows Lexus SUV Driver Caused Left Hook Crash on Milwaukee Avenue

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On August 29th attorney Tom Reuland of Keating Law won a heavily contested jury trial for a Chicago bicyclist. The cyclist sustained a non-displaced fracture to his wrist when he was the victim of a “left hook” on Sheridan Road in Wilmette. The driver involved in the crash was a local law professor who insisted that the cyclist entered the intersection on a red light and was at fault.State Farm, who insured the driver, considered this a “no-offer” case, meaning they were so confident they would win this case that they refused to pay even a dollar to compensate our…
Continue Reading Chicago Bicyclist Wins Jury Trial Against Law Professor Who Blamed The Cyclist For Crash

December 21st marks the Winter Solstice for 2021. The Winter Solstice occurs when the North Pole is tilted the farthest from the sun and there is the least amount of daylight. After the Winter Solstice the days slowly get longer until then end of January when we gain two minutes of sunlight each day. While that doesn’t sound that far away, there are some long and dark nights ahead of us. These long nights in winter mean that Illinois bicyclists who commute to work via their bikes will be riding home in the dark. It is important to note that a…
Continue Reading Winter Solstice Brings Winter And A Reminder To Use A Bike Light


 
The Chicago cycling community is again faced with another tragedy due to the death of a young cyclist on Friday night. According to the Chicago Police Department, the fatal crash occurred at approximately 10:20 a.m. on Friday, December 10th in the 4000 block of South Ashland Avenue. This is a stretch of Ashland Avenue that is heavily trafficked with semi-trucks and other industrial traffic due to the nearby Norfolk Southern Railyard and accompanying rail road tracks.

According to the Illinois Traffic Crash Report, the collision occurred when a truck driver turned a 2017 International tractor and connected trailer right…
Continue Reading Chicago Cyclist Killed In Crash With Semi-Truck On Ashland Avenue

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Last spring on a beautiful day a local bicyclist and her adult daughter went on a bicycle ride through Naperville. Their pleasant day was cut short when a motorist failed to notice them and turned immediately in front of the bicyclists. The daughter was able to avoid the driver but the other bicyclist slammed into the side of the motor vehicle and was thrown off of her bicycle. She landed hard and struck her head in the process. The Naperville police issued a citation to the motorist for failing to yield the right of way to the bicyclists. The driver of…
Continue Reading $300,000.00 Settlement for Injured Triathlete Shows Importance of Fighting for Underinsured Motorist Insurance Coverage

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The Chicago Sun-Times reported that a 59-year-old man named Thomas Travers passed away on Monday July 26, 2021 after being struck by a van on North Milwaukee Avenue. The collision occurred in the northwest side neighborhood of Jefferson Park. Mr. Travers spent two days at St. Francis Hospital in Evanston, Illinois after the crash where he sadly passed away due to the multiple injuries he sustained from the accident.The crash occurred in the afternoon of July 24, 2021, on the busy road of the 5300 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. Milwaukee Avenue is a popular street among cyclists in Chicago…
Continue Reading Chicago Bicyclist Killed In Collision With Van In Jefferson Park

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A Chicago police officer tragically ran over and killed a 9-year old Chicago boy who was crossing the street on his bicycle. Chicago is in shock over one of the most tragic deaths of a Chicago bicyclist in the city’s history. Beyond the massive tragedy, the death of 9-year old Hershel Weinberger in West Rogers Park stands out for many reasons: the young age of the victim, the vehicle involved and the status of the driver of the vehicle.According to an interview with the father of the boy, Shamai Weinberger, to the Chicago Tribune, young Hershel Weinberger was riding…
Continue Reading Chicago Boy Killed in Collision with Modified Truck Driven by Chicago Police Officer

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The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that an Oak Park bicyclist by the name of Peter McDonnell tragically died as a result of injuries sustained in a bicycle vs. motor vehicle crash. According to the article, Mr. McDonnell tragically succumbed to the injuries sustained in the crash after days at Loyola University Medical Center. The crash occurred on March 9th at the intersection of Division Street and North Harlem Avenue in west suburban River Forest. This intersection is right by Dominican University and is regularly travelled by cyclists. Images of the area show that right on Division Street is a “Share The…
Continue Reading River Forest Cyclist Killed In Crash In Oak Park Near "Share The Road" Sign

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Far and away the most common types of cases we handle as bicycle law attorneys involve collisions between motor vehicles and bicyclists where the driver of the motor vehicle is at fault. Common examples of this are doorings, right hook crashes, left hook crashes, failure to give the bicyclist 3-Feet when passing. However, a large number of the cases Keating Law Offices has handled involve bicyclists who were injured when their bicycle hit a defect in the roadway and they crashed.Illinois law on these types of cases is very, very fact specific. IllinoisBicycleLaw.com has previously delved into the crucial Illinois …
Continue Reading The "Open and Obvious" Defense In Pothole and Roadway Defect Bicycle Crash Cases

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Far and away the most common types of cases we handle as bicycle law attorneys involve collisions between motor vehicles and bicyclists where the driver of the motor vehicle is at fault. Common examples of this are doorings, right hook crashes, left hook crashes, failure to give the bicyclist 3-Feet when passing. However, a large number of the cases Keating Law Offices has handled involve bicyclists who were injured when their bicycle hit a defect in the roadway and they crashed.Illinois law on these types of cases is very, very fact specific. IllinoisBicycleLaw.com has previously delved into the crucial Illinois …
Continue Reading The "Open and Obvious Defense" In Pothole And Other Roadway Defect Cases

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In the spirit of giving, Keating Law Offices is proud to announce it is matching donations made to Equiticity’s end of the year “Turn on the Power, and Let Equity Flow” fundraiser up to $1,000.00 for Giving Tuesday.About EquiticityEquiticity, a racial equity movement founded in Chicago which advocates for racial equity, increased mobility and racial justice for communities of color across the United States, is embarking on a campaign to raise $10,000.00 before the end of the year through their “Turn on the Power and Let Equity Flow” campaign. The funds raised will go towards research,…
Continue Reading Keating Law Offices Supports Equiticity on Giving Tuesday 2020

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Another Chicago-area bicyclist has lost their life in a hit-and-run crash. On November 14th, 27-year-old Dragomir Misic was struck in a fatal hit-and-run collision in west suburban Aurora. The bicyclist was riding near the intersection of Montgomery Road and White Eagle Drive around 7:30 p.m. The driver then fled the scene. Aurora Police are asking for the public’s help regarding any information about the crash. If anyone knows any information about the collision, you are encouraged to call the Aurora Police Department at 630-256-5330 or the Aurora Area Crime Stoppers at 630-892-1000.Key Steps To Follow If A Victim Of …
Continue Reading Aurora Police Request Help in Identifying Driver in a Fatal Hit-and-Run

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75-year-old cyclist, Efren Avitia, was killed in a crash in near west suburban Cicero on Friday, November 13, 2020. According to a Chicago Sun-Times article, the victim was struck by a vehicle when he was biking near 31st Street and Austin Boulevard at about 10:00 a.m. The victim was transported via ambulance from the scene of the crash to Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead early Saturday morning. An autopsy of the victim found that the person died of multiple blunt force injuries and the death was ruled an “accident.” The use of the term “accident” is…
Continue Reading 75-Year Old Cyclist Killed in Crash with Driver of Motor Vehicle in Cicero

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Last Thursday, November 5, 2020, a bicyclist was killed in a collision with a truck while cycling in southern Illinois. According to reports, 58-year-old David Coleson was riding a bicycle southbound on Illinois 3 near its intersection with Airport Road in Alexander County. Alexander County is best known for being the southernmost county in the State of Illinois. The Illinois State Police reported that Mr. Coleson was killed after we was struck by a truck while riding his bicycle. According to the Illinois State Police the collision occurred when both Mr. Coleson and the driver of the truck were both…
Continue Reading Illinois Bicyclist Killed in Crash with Passing Truck in Southern Illinois

A 12-year-old Chicago cyclist was struck by a car on Chicago South Side in the South Chicago neighborhood. This is a sequence of events that unfortunately happens often on the densely populated streets of Chicago. This particular instance raises the issue of how the details of a crash matter in determining who bears responsibility under the law for a crash. According to the Chicago Sun-Time article regarding the incident the crash occurred as the boy “traveled in front of the turning vehicle.” Details in the Sun-Times article about the incident are otherwise limited. However, with that limited information the crash would…
Continue Reading The Difference Between "Riding in Front of a Vehicle" and the Vehicle Not Yielding to a Bike