The Law Offices of James M. Freeman, P.C.

Mary Wisniewski authored an article for Reuters on Rahm Emanuel's plans to expand bicycle infrastructure in the City of Chicago.  She interviewed me in preparation for this article and ended up quoting me on my pro-enforcement stance.

Chicago Municipal Code section 9-52-020 (d) reads in relevant part, "Whenever a usable path for bicycles has been provided adjacent to a roadway, bicycle riders shall use such path and shall not use the roadway."

Many messenger companies try to classify their messengers as independent contractors in order to avoid paying taxes and insurance on the employees, but that doesn’t mean that the messenger is, in fact, an independent contractor. With respect to my practice, this issue is most often hashed out after a messenger is injured on the job, and they are retying to recoup their lost wages and medical expenses.

The Chicago Tribune reported today that Illinois will now start tracking doorings.  This is an about face for IDOT, which had previously refused to keep statistics or records on doorings.

According to the Trib:

This week we received the following e-mail from an apparent concerned pedestrian who witnessed a shocking and disappointing event:

Today the Chicago Sun-Times reported that ER visits in Chicago spiked as much as 30% almost overnight due to dangerously icy streets and sidewalks.  Common injuries from such falls include shoulder, wrist and hip injuries. 

See the article here.

Today the Chicago Sun-Times reported that ER visits in Chicago spiked as much as 30% almost overnight due to dangerously icy streets and sidewalks.  Common injuries from such falls include shoulder, wrist and hip injuries. 

See the article here.

In early November The Law Offices of James M. Freeman, P.C. offered to match donations to fund a headlight giveaway in conjunction with the Active Transportation Alliance and Groupon.  The response was overwhelming.  We raised over $5,000, more than any of us expected. 

ABC Channel 7 recently ran a segment on bicycling in Chicago.  While the media never seems to get everything right, this clip does illustrate rather well why it is so important that cyclists obey traffic laws, and it highlights the lack of traffic enforcement as to cyclists.

Chicago Breaking News is reporting that a man was seriously injured while crossing Archer Avenue near 40th Street.  The driver fled the scene.