More Big Brain Thinking

Another brilliant idea from the brain trust of Ed "foie gras" Burke:

• Pedestrians texting or using a cellphone while walking through a Chicago intersection would face fines under a proposal introduced by two key aldermen.
  
  The proposal, which would still have to pass the full City Council, calls for fines of $90 to $500 for each incident of using a mobile device while crossing a street or highway.
  
  “The goal of the introduction of this measure is to reduce pedestrian deaths and injuries, especially at crosswalks,” longtime Ald. Edward Burke, 14th, said in a news release.
  
  Burke is co-sponsoring the proposed ordinance with South Side Ald. Anthony Beale, 9th, who predicted it would “increase safety by eliminating distractions for pedestrians.”

And what, pray tell, led to this unaddressed need crying out for immediate attention?

• Burke and Beale cited statistics showing 27 pedestrians were killed in the first half of 2017 — an increase of one death from the same period last year. The aldermen did not present any data or information on how many of those deaths involved a pedestrian using a mobile device.

And increase of.....one? With no accompanying data to show that cell phones, which have been around for over a decade now, contributed in even the smallest manner?

No doubt this will enhance CPD popularity across the board.