Court Ordered: Pegasus in Greektown

June 8, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

We decided to put our appetites to good use

One look at our Facebook page confirms that we enjoy eating. A lot. We’ve decided to put our appetites to good use. The focus of our new philanthropic effort is called Court Ordered, and it’s a fun way to enjoy our meals, pay tribute to Chicago’s diverse food scene, and give back to those less fortunate.

For a good meal sampled on special occasions, we’ll make a small donation to the Greater Chicago Food Depository as a reminder that many people can’t afford small luxuries. We’ll also take a crack at chronicling our food adventures (with special guests here and there).

For our inaugural outing, we welcomed our friend and Hamilton star Remmie Bourgeois (thanks to our legal assistant, Julius Carter, for the introduction). Remmie is an actor, singer, dancer, and one of the nicest guys you’ll meet. During lunch, Remmie regaled us with stories from the Hamilton set, sharing a few industry secrets and what it’s like to perform for one of the most successful musicals in Broadway history. Thanks for joining us, Remmie. We have no doubt we’ll be seeing you in many more shows in the years ahead.

Our first outing (a brief highlight)

When you go to Greektown, you’re going for the Greek. A stalwart since 1990, Pegasus is one of many homegrown spots with an eye towards tradition and fresh ingredients. The portions are reliably big and the bread baskets get replenished often. But what stands out here is the setting in which they’re received, and it starts with the people.

There’s an element of the Old World at Pegasus. Among the murals of ocean vistas and islands is a serving staff that ensures you’re taken care of, with all the pleasantries of friends amongst friends. Ours was particularly generous and accommodating, delivering each dish with a smile. Our server was helpful and always ready to answer questions, stopping by on occasion to enjoy a few laughs with our group as we feasted on grilled octopus, authentic Greek gyro, and delicious Greek salad, among many other things.

Needless to say, at Pegasus the Greek isn’t just good, it’s great.

Fatal crash in Garfield Park underlines need for helmet cameras

June 7, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Video footage is invaluable evidence

It’s an all too familiar situation. A cyclist gets hit by a car, dies, and so too does their side of the story. On Monday night, Louis Smith was riding north on the 100 block of North Homan when a female driver heading southbound in a Chrysler 200 struck and killed him. According to the police report, Smith supposedly “swerved into the vehicle.”

It’s unlikely we’ll know for sure, raising doubts as to the veracity of the report. Streetsblog notes that there are no traffic cameras near the crash site. The only version of what happened is that of the driver, who had not been cited as of 11:30am on Tuesday.

Based solely on the driver’s word, it’s impossible to determine whether Smith did in fact swerve into the car. But what’s certain is this: Smith isn’t around to say otherwise. Barring any new information from the Major Accidents Investigation Unit, which is looking closely at the crash, discrepancies in the report may never come to light.

Helmet cameras as safety prevention measures and legal ammunition

Had Smith been wearing a helmet with a camera attached, it’s fair to say that we’d know much more. Helmet cams are quickly becoming the accessary of the moment. They provide great vantage points for would be YouTube stars (a practice we don’t encourage when it’s done recklessly), but they’re also practical for their ability to shed light on collisions, giving cyclists ammunition should they find themselves in court. It’s happened more than once, and it’s been effective almost every time.

Several years ago, we represented a woman who was injured by a motorist while riding her bike. The conclusive and defining piece of evidence was surveillance footage captured by a nearby store, leading to a decisive settlement. During the course of litigation, it became virtually impossible for the opposing counsel to defend what was clearly negligent driving.

There are other, residual benefits of helmet cams that go far beyond the footage. Just as the glaring decals of police cruisers capture surrounding attention, cameras are known to prevent drivers from making poor decisions. Elsewhere, helmet cameras are leading to more prosecutions and fines, especially related to aggressive driving and road rage incidents. This article from CNN, for example, points to a situation in 2015 where a driver accused a nearby cyclist of provoking him into violent action. Thanks to a helmet camera, the cyclist was able to prove that the driver was lying.

Bottom line: the camera reveals all.

As summer arrives, teen drivers require preparation

June 6, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

Tips for keeping your teen safe

With the weather warming and gas prices declining, it seems inevitable that we’re heading towards a summer with hefty consequences.

As the National Safety Council made clear over Memorial Day Weekend, the season of dangerous teen driving behavior is upon us. And now with a new report that gas prices in Illinois are the lowest they’ve been in years, there’s reason to believe the summer of 2017 could potentially turn into one of the deadliest in recent memory.

It doesn’t have to be this way, and it starts by setting examples.

Recently, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) partnered with Liberty Mutual to look at both teen and adult driving behavior. What they found was disturbing, but not surprising: just as teens are prone to distracted driving behavior, adults engage in distracted driving behaviors more frequently than younger drivers. That’s according to SADD senior advisor Gene Beresin, who told the Tribune that parents are poor role models when it comes to using cellphones while driving.

According to stats compiled by SADD, 55% of surveyed parents admit they use apps while driving, compared to 62% who say they use their cellphone to check incoming calls or talk. One third of teens said they have asked their parents to stop using their phones while driving. Out of 1,000 parents surveyed, 50% admitted texting or calling their teen despite knowing that their son or daughter was on the road and behind the wheel.

Promoting safe driving habits is one thing, but failing to live up to those habits is worse. Take steps to ensure that doesn’t happen.

Establish parameters for the trip ahead

Any road trip is bound to include music, podcasts, or the radio. The best course of action is to curate your set-list in advance, staving off the temptation to change stations or fiddle with phones mid-drive. Take an opportunity to sit down with your teen and jot down a predetermined set of programming that requires little to no adjustments, at least while driving. Better yet, set your list and immediately toss the phone where it can’t be touched, e.g. the glove box.

Bluetooth is your friend

The beauty of tech is that there’s always something to look forward to. Most cars today are equipped with Bluetooth, allowing drivers to control their device hands-free. This is especially important for anyone using a navigation app to steer their course. Take the opportunity to investigate, install, and setup any navigation or incoming call settings to keep distractions at a minimum.

Incentivize good behavior

Money certainly isn’t the solution to all the world’s problems, but there’s something to be said for incentivizing good behavior. Some people will tell you that’s a bad idea, especially as it pertains to young kids. But once your child enters the teen years, there’s perhaps hope that their behavior won’t be influenced by the thought of receiving a reward. In that sense, consider some small but effective bonus for driving safely. It may require a bit of detective work as far as your teen’s phone is concerned (checking text timestamps and call logs, for example), but it may prove beneficial if it keeps them free of distractions and safe.

At the very least, mount the phone on the dash

Consider this a last resort. A very last resort. One of the things that Beresin pointed out to the Tribune was how challenging it is to suppress the effect of instant gratification. A text or a phone call is, in the minds of many, a gift waiting to be opened. Fighting off that temptation, especially when a parent is not around to supervise, may be too much to overcome for a teenage driver, barring your ability to lock the phone in the glove box and throwing away the key. In that sense, a phone mount for the console dash is, at the very least, a way to keep eyes focused towards the road. Fidgeting with a phone while looking down is never a good idea.

The city nixes 12 red light cameras

June 5, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

A new study finds they did little to prevent crashes, but that doesn’t mean the overall system is bad

At least 12 of the city’s red light cameras have been deactivated due to their ineffectiveness, according to DNAInfo.

Per the paper, the city explained in a news release that the cameras were no longer preventing crashes. The decision was based on a study conducted by the Northwestern University Transportation Center, which compared crash data from 85 intersections with red light cameras to 103 intersections without; the study concluded that certain cameras largely did nothing to stop motorists from blowing through red lights and causing accidents.

The cameras in question were located at the following intersections:

Irving Park Road and Kedzie Avenue
Peterson Avenue and Pulaski Road
Grand Avenue and Oak Park Avenue
95th Street and Stony Island Avenue
Western Avenue and 71st Street
Western Avenue and Pershing Road

The study from Northwestern also noted that Chicago has one of the longest-running and largest red light camera enforcement systems in the country. Numerous reports have shown that red light cameras have been effective in preventing reckless driving, though they continue to generate controversy for their perceived opportunism and trigger-happy tendencies.

But despite problems, the authors concluded that the red-light camera system works in principle. Among the benefits: Intersections monitored by red light cameras have experienced an improvement in safety, notably those involving “severe angle and turn crashes.” The cameras have also been known to generate a “spillover effect,” meaning their very existence deters drivers from making poor decisions.

That’s not to say there isn’t room for tweaks. Among the study’s suggestions: “extending the enforcement threshold (time-into-red that triggers a ticket) from the current 0.1 second to 0.3 or 0.4 seconds.”

In citing these numbers, Northwestern notes that it’s important to remember there are multiple variables involved, including the nature of reported crashes and the complexities of each case. As a result, “continuous monitoring, evaluation, adaptation, and reporting to the community are recommended.”

‘Ghostrider’ efforts could prove useful to Chicago police

June 1, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

It works in Michigan. What about here?

Going undercover may be one of the better ways to prevent unnecessary traffic fatalities, if we’re to believe a new program coming out of Michigan.

According to the Wall Street Journal, several police departments In Macomb County and Shelby Township have been conducting covert operations to crack down on distracted driving behavior. Among them is a program called Operation Ghostrider, and it’s paying dividends for cops struggling to clearly identify people breaking the law.

As the Journal reports, officers in Macomb County ride in unmarked cars while others roam busy streets disguised as panhandlers, a subversive but effective way to catch distracted drivers in the act of texting or even applying makeup while driving. Stats compiled by the Journal reveal that the Ghostrider op. is responsible for pulling over 140 drivers and issuing more than 100 citations since the start of the campaign. In two four-hour stretches, Shelby Township Police pulled over 93 drivers, all of which received traffic citations.

It’s not just working in Michigan, either. Another program in Tennessee sees officers ride in large buses, a tactic designed to provide a better vantage point when patrolling traffic. And while the buses are marked, the results have typically been the same.

Chicago might take a lesson from Michigan and Tennessee. It wasn’t long ago that Tribune columnist Mary Wisniewski detailed how distracted driving tickets fell precipitously in 2016, down to a few hundred from tens of thousands just a couple years ago. It seems Chicago’s problems stem from less manpower and more bureaucratic red tape.

Those are just two problems. But we’ll have bigger problems if we continue to ignore a deadly trend.

Over the last two years the country has seen a surge in motor-vehicle related fatalities, up six percent in 2015 and up 14 percent compared to 2014. Nearly every expert agrees: distracted driving is one, if not the, primary culprit.

There are differences between rural townships in Michigan and a city like Chicago. But whatever the differences, we can all agree that more needs to be done locally to prevent the city’s downward trend from spiraling further out of control. It doesn’t hurt to look at examples of things that’s proved successful elsewhere.

Have you looked at your insurance policy lately?

May 30, 2017 by Levinson and Stefani Leave a Comment

It never hurts to brush up

Like most states, Illinois requires drivers to a carry a minimum of $25,000 in liability coverage, a relatively low number compared to other states.

It’s called the mandatory insurance law, enacted in 1989 and updated in 2013, which increased the mandatory minimum from $20,000 to $25,000. The idea was to protect drivers from spending out-of-pocket for accident claims. It was a victory for Representative Laura Fine, a Glenview Democrat and sponsor of the bill, whose husband was involved in a severe accident that forced responders to amputate his arm. Fine recalled later that she and her family were at the mercy of astronomically high medical bills.

The new provisions of the mandatory minimum went into effect more than two years ago, yet it feels as though we’re still revealing what drivers should already know. The insurance laws in Illinois call for two forms of insurance coverage—liability and uninsured motorist coverage. Both types protect you in different ways. If you’re a driver, it’s important to understand what types coverage you’re required to carry. It’s also important to know what types of optional insurance coverage exist and how they work. Here’s a short refresher.

Mandatory Insurance in the State of Illinois

Liability: $25,000 per person. A requirement under most state laws that covers the costs associated with an accident that you were responsible for causing. That accounts for bodily injuries and property damage. It’s the most common type of insurance coverage, which is intended to provide financial assistance to the other party involved.

Uninsured and Underinsured: Coverage against uninsured and underinsured (UM/UIM) drivers is required in Illinois. In 2011, the Insurance Research Council found that one in seven drivers were uninsured. Uninsured motorist coverage protects you in the event that another driver is responsible for a crash, but doesn’t carry insurance. Underinsurance coverage is similar, in the sense that it protects you if the at-fault driver’s liability insurance is too low to cover costs of an accident. Illinois is one of 21 states that requires uninsured and underinsured coverage. By law, the UM/UIM policy limit equals your liability policy limit.

Optional Insurance

Collision insurance: Covers damages to your car in the event of a crash

Comprehensive: Pays for repairs in non-accident related damages to your car (i.e. an act of vandalism)

Medical payments: Covers medical costs if you’re injured in or by a motor vehicle

Uninsured property motorist damage: Covers damages to your car after an accident with an uninsured driver