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CHICAGO - Starting next year, Illinois law enforcement will not only be ticketing you for failure to wear a seatbelt or illegal use of a cell phone while driving, they'll also be stopping motorists who flick cigarette butts out their windows.
With former Democrat State Rep. Deb Mell's bill HB 3243 now law, flicking butts will cost you. A first time conviction is a class B misdemeanor with a fine not exceeding $1,500. A second conviction is a class A misdemeanor with a fine not exceeding $1,500.
Third or subsequent convictions will be a class 4 felony, punishable by a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment not less than one year and not more than three years.
According to the national lobbying organization Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, cigarette butts are "the most commonly discarded pieces of waste worldwide," with an estimated 1.69 billion pounds of butts ending up as toxic waste every year. The new amendment to Illinois's Litter Control Act, HB 3243, advocates that cigarette butts are a dangerous form of litter for the environment.
openyourmind1262
Illinois is the number on state for gun crimes and you all are worried about a cigarette butt. More folks are shot in Chicago in a week that the rest of the states combined. And you all are worried about a cigarette butt. Kids sleeping on the streets and homeless folks all around..and you all are worried about a cigarette butt. What about empty beer & liquor bottles? That gonna get you all's panties in a wad as well. What about litter in general? What about all the dog & cat crap laying around? Another example of TPTB singleing out one aspect of society and slamming them even more. Tax, fines, jail time? For a damn cigarette butt. Just another state to stay away from in the lower 48.
rickymouse
That is probably a higher penalty than a fracking company gets from a spill. It is probably higher than the fine that companies get from a small leak of environmentally damaging chemical on the ground.
This is kind of insane. People are not very intelligent, it is what you don't see happening that is more important. I can see charging someone if their butt starts a fire or fining then fifty bucks. I smoke, I do not throw butts on the ground most times, I butt them out and stick them in my pocket. That practice has not worked so well all the time though, sometimes the butts are not completely out. I do not like littering though, the ash is one thing the butt is another.
Third or subsequent convictions will be a class 4 felony, punishable by a fine of $25,000 and imprisonment not less than one year and not more than three years.
Wrabbit- I'm sure no person would ever face jail, unless they were repeat offender and I mean like 10-15 times... I just don't see any court system throwing a person away for 3 offenses, even though the law is written that way...
jhn7537
but ultimately this is a good thing and hopefully more people quit putting those toxins in their body...
Would other ATS members welcome this new law to their state? If you're a smoker do you find this excessive?
jhn7537
reply to post by Wrabbit2000
Wrabbit- I'm sure no person would ever face jail, unless they were repeat offender and I mean like 10-15 times... I just don't see any court system throwing a person away for 3 offenses, even though the law is written that way...
What would be interesting, and just got me thinking, say a guy is out on Parole (obviously on probation) and gets a fine (Class B Misdemeanor) for flicking a cigarette butt, do you think that qualifies as breaking parole?
Biigs
Hey man, lit butts cause fires.
If only for the prevention of fire i think this is a good thing.
jhn7537
reply to post by Wrabbit2000
Wrabbit- I'm sure no person would ever face jail, unless they were repeat offender and I mean like 10-15 times... I just don't see any court system throwing a person away for 3 offenses, even though the law is written that way...
What would be interesting, and just got me thinking, say a guy is out on Parole (obviously on probation) and gets a fine (Class B Misdemeanor) for flicking a cigarette butt, do you think that qualifies as breaking parole?