Related links
Chicago -
Illinois' windshield-obstruction law earned headlines -- and ridicule -- in 2002. Catherine "Kit" Morris, then a 55-year-old widow in DuPage County, was cited for her dangling rosary. She fought the $75 ticket, which was eventually thrown out.
But while the law and its enforcement give rise to some levity, not everyone finds it a laughing matter.
Steve Penczak of Addison has spent 40 years warning others about the dangers of windshield ornaments. In the late 1960s, he ran into a woman in Chicago who was crossing the street a few paces behind a priest.
The priest, in black, was clearly visible, he said. But the woman, in a white coat, was "perfectly silhouetted" behind the graduation tassel hanging from his mirror.
"I just have this vision of her on my hood," he said. The woman only suffered skinned knees, but Penczak, 59, never forgot it.
It would appear many are unaware of the windshield law. At the Schaumburg Transit Center on a recent Friday, 20 of the 48 cars in the lot had some ornament hanging from their mirrors.
Chris Cosley, a defense lawyer in Rolling Meadows, said these stops can have serious consequences for law-abiding people. What happened to his client Ermir Spahiu is the epitome of what's wrong with them, he said.
Spahiu of Chicago rented a Nissan Altima at O'Hare in June and opted to get a GPS unit. The Albanian-born immigrant had been hired by a Palatine car dealer to drive to California and purchase vehicles at auction. Cosley said he was given $200,000 in cash.
A sheriff's deputy pulled him over in Colorado for his GPS unit. Thinking he had nothing to hide, Spahiu agreed to a search, and the deputy found the cash, which had been hidden in the spare tire and in a duffel bag.
Despite finding nothing illegal, the deputy confiscated the cash, which remains in custody of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Cosley said.
He speculated Spahiu's out-of-state license and immigrant profile made him a target, and the GPS provided a reason to stop him.
"It gives police the ability to pull over people they deem suspicious," he said. "He was never charged with any criminal offense."
But while the law and its enforcement give rise to some levity, not everyone finds it a laughing matter.
Steve Penczak of Addison has spent 40 years warning others about the dangers of windshield ornaments. In the late 1960s, he ran into a woman in Chicago who was crossing the street a few paces behind a priest.
The priest, in black, was clearly visible, he said. But the woman, in a white coat, was "perfectly silhouetted" behind the graduation tassel hanging from his mirror.
"I just have this vision of her on my hood," he said. The woman only suffered skinned knees, but Penczak, 59, never forgot it.
It would appear many are unaware of the windshield law. At the Schaumburg Transit Center on a recent Friday, 20 of the 48 cars in the lot had some ornament hanging from their mirrors.
Chris Cosley, a defense lawyer in Rolling Meadows, said these stops can have serious consequences for law-abiding people. What happened to his client Ermir Spahiu is the epitome of what's wrong with them, he said.
Spahiu of Chicago rented a Nissan Altima at O'Hare in June and opted to get a GPS unit. The Albanian-born immigrant had been hired by a Palatine car dealer to drive to California and purchase vehicles at auction. Cosley said he was given $200,000 in cash.
A sheriff's deputy pulled him over in Colorado for his GPS unit. Thinking he had nothing to hide, Spahiu agreed to a search, and the deputy found the cash, which had been hidden in the spare tire and in a duffel bag.
Despite finding nothing illegal, the deputy confiscated the cash, which remains in custody of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Cosley said.
He speculated Spahiu's out-of-state license and immigrant profile made him a target, and the GPS provided a reason to stop him.
"It gives police the ability to pull over people they deem suspicious," he said. "He was never charged with any criminal offense."
