Panel backs new fine for guns near schools, parks
Additional $3,000 penalty 'sends a clear message,' alderman says
December 9, 2011People toting guns within 500 feet of Chicago schools and parks would get hit with an additional $3,000 fine under a measure endorsed Thursday by the City Council Public Safety Committee.
The additional fines also would apply to those loitering near schools as part of gang or drug activities under the proposal, set for a full council vote Wednesday. Current fines for the offenses range from $100 to $500, and the new fines would be added to those, said Ald. Ariel Reboyras, 30th, who proposed the measure.
"It just sends a clear message that we're not going to tolerate it," Reboyras said. "If you're going to do it, you're going to pay."
Reboyras conceded the fines are unlikely to deter wrongdoing.
"The bad guy's going to do what the bad guy does — fines mean nothing to them," he said. "But if nothing else, it steps up the fines, and if we should happen to catch someone, they'll pay another fee. That's all. It just adds more money to the revenue."
Copyright © 2011, Chicago Tribune
