Back in 2011, 13 year
old Kelsey Little was walking with two friends in Grundy County, when she was
tragically struck and killed by a 15 year old driver. Shockingly, three days
later the 15 year old applied for and received his driver’s license. This news
shocked the Little family along with lawmakers and Illinois Secretary of State,
Jesse White.
As a result, Illinois
lawmakers drafted and passed House Bill 1009, which was named Kelsey’s law. The
new law, which NBC 5 reports was signed into law by Governor Quinn, prohibits any teen with unresolved traffic
citations from getting a state driver’s license. Sources said Quinn
supports the proposed legislation. The new law would ask the
question: ‘Do you have a pending case in court dealing with a traffic
violation?’ If a teen answers, ‘Yes,’ or is caught lying, White’s office can
then invalidate that license application.
“It’s the kind of commonsense
legislation that will make people of Illinois safer, our lives better and my
family a little happier,” Little’s mother, Nancy Deckleman, said
after Monday’s bill-signing. “Knowing that for everything Kelsey’s been
through that something good will finally come of it.” The new law
took effect with Quinn’s signature.
This is the type of legislation
that makes the roads safer, and will hopefully prevent other deadly
vehicle-pedestrian accidents from taking place.
Should you or someone you love
become injured in a Chicago car accident or Chicago auto-pedestrian accident,
then call Chicago personal injury attorney Aaron Bryant for a free legalconsultation at 312-588-3384.