It's simple: Talking on your cell phone while driving is dangerous.
Researchers have compared the effects to driving drunk or having several decades added to your true age.
Now, the Chicago City Council is looking to give a break to drivers caught violating the law.
Currently, if you get a ticket for talking on your cell phone, you have to hand over your license and go to Traffic Court to get it back.
Under a change approved by a council committee this week, you would keep your license and either pay your ticket by mail or go to an administrative hearing.
Much less hassle.
As you might suspect, the city, in these hard financial times, isn't doing this to play nice.
Rather, city officials suspect they will take in more money from fines, because it is seeing Traffic Court judges routinely reduce fines on cell phone violations from $75 to $20.
We don't favor the city raking in more money from taxpayers. The city already takes in enough.
But here's where the city council's actions might do some good, indirectly.
Chicago police don't appear to enforce the cell phone law all that vigorously.
If they did, courtrooms would be overflowing with offenders.
Perhaps police don't believe the penalty and the hassle fit the crime.
With the change in the law, they might be willing to write more tickets.
We'll have to wait and see what happens.
But if it means fewer people weaving in and out of traffic lanes or nearly hitting people crossing the street, it will be a change for the better.
This blog brought to you by the Sun-Times editorial board (click on names to read bios):
The reason the Chicago police don't enforce is because they are on their own cell phones.