Planning on tossing that cigarette butt on the ground? Hefty fees outlined in a new amendment to Illinois' state littering law could just nip that butt-throwing habit in the bud.
Thanks to an amendment signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn earlier this month, anyone caught throwing a cigarette butt out a car window or onto the ground or any other public place could face up to a $1,500 fine beginning on Jan. 1, 2014, the Rockford Register Star reports.
The new amendment, sponsored by ex-state Rep. Deb Mell, was initially introduced in February, approved by a 71-45 vote in the House in April and passed in a unanimous 55-0 vote in the Senate in May, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In addition to the fines, violators convicted of the Class B misdemeanor could even face jail time -- a maximum of six months.
The expansion of the state littering law to include cigarette butts coincides with an effort to expand littering fines in the city of Chicago.
Related
Before You Go
