We all need some space.  In these strange times when a unique virus has shuttered my city, Chicago, and many others around the world, one of the more precious commodities is space, particularly outdoor space.  Yesterday, Chicago experienced one of those sunny, warm(ish) days that we always seem to get in March where throngs of […]

A federal government agency is making a controversial recommendation to all 50 states that all bicyclists be required to wear helmets.   Mandatory bicycle helmet laws are a terrible idea.  Cycling as a form of recreation and transportation offers a myriad of benefits to the individual and the community as a whole.  An adult or child […]

As the train crossed from Belgium into the Netherlands my excitement grew.  I sat forward to get a better look out of the window at the country side. Then I saw them, beautiful, clean, pale red ribbons stretching through the low lying land.    They were bicycle paths; actually not so much paths as bicycle highways, […]

Chicago has become one of the nation’s top cycling cities, but along with more has come an increase in dooring crashes. A Chicago news channel has covered the issue and interviewed attorney Brendan Kevenides, Bike Law’s legal resource in Illinois. Brendan explained the growing risk to cyclists and how the “Dutch Reach” can help.  The […]

How much protection do Illinois municipalities have from liability for failing to maintain a dangerous bicycle path?

The most comprehensive laws in the country specifying when a driver may legally pass a bicyclist in a designated no-passing zone was just passed in Illinois.

The new Illinois e-bike law leaves the door open for municipalities throughout the state to restrict their use in some places where traditional bicycles are allowed.

A proposed change in Illinois jury instructions for bicycle crash cases, and why it may matter in your case.

9/16/16 UPDATE: The driver has contacted our office and appears to be cooperating.  Now we intend to follow up with respect to the responding officer’s actions.  Thanks to everyone for their help identifying this driver. *** At 5:13 pm on September 12, 2016, a bicyclist was doored at 2359 N. Milwaukee Avenue in Chicago. Here’s the video. The cyclist […]

He had just been launched skyward by the front end of a pickup truck.  Now the police were giving him a ticket. Jason was riding his road bike in the travel lane of North River Road in Libertyville, Illinois with his father-in-law and two friends when an impatient teenaged driver in a Toyota Tacoma pulled […]

It’s been a brutal start to the summer for cyclists.  From New York to Michigan to San Fransisco and everywhere in between we’ve seen a level of carnage unmatched as far as I can remember.  I’ve been told that there are all sorts of possible reasons for these bike crashes, mostly some combination including more […]

When I first met Richard a nurse was assisting him with the delicate task of using the hospital bathroom.  He had just had surgery on his broken right leg, now wrapped in a heavy plaster cast.  Defecation and its attendant tasks were proving a challenge.  He needed help. The rest of his body was a […]