Alderwoman wants to require Chicago boaters to wear life vests after woman drowned in Playpen
A tragedy on Lake Michigan claimed the life of a Chicago hairstylist last month. Zahrie Walls was not wearing a life jacket when she fell off a boat at the Playpen and died.
Now a proposed city ordinance is seeking change. Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) has proposed an ordinance that would require all boaters on the lake or other waterways in Chicago to wear a personal flotation device, or face fines of $100 to $500.
Boat owner David Johnson prepared to take his friends out on his 24-foot-long jet boat for the afternoon on Friday, and said what's always part of his plan before leaving the dock at 31st Street Harbor is making sure everyone onboard has their life jacket on.
"I know when I take people out on the boat with me, a lot of times from the moment we pull out to the moment we come back, I'm making sure they got life vests on. I'm identifying who knows how to swim, who doesn't," he said.
For passenger AdeOla Fadumiye, a life jacket is a priority.
"If I fall over, I would float and not drown. I can swim, but open water scares me," Fadumiye said.
Coleman introduced the life vest ordinance to the City Council on Wednesday. It has been assigned to the Transportation Committee, but no hearings have yet been scheduled.
Coleman said the goal is to get it approved by the City Council in September.
The ordinance would make it mandatory for anyone on any "watercraft, sailboat, recreational boat, personal watercraft or specialty prop-craft" to wear a personal flotation device, unless they sign a release certifying they are able to swim and release the boat's operator of any liability for the risks of failing to wear a life jacket.
Coleman said she introduced the ordinance after Wells died on June 21, after falling from a boat in the area of Lake Michigan known as the Playpen, near Navy Pier. Walls didn't know how to swim and wasn't wearing a lifejacket.
"I have witnessed the pain of her family and losing a life, and then her family will forever be traumatized because of the loss of such young, motivating, inspiring young lady," Coleman said.
Anyone on a boat in Chicago not wearing a life jacket could face fines of between $100 and $500. Boat operators who fail to make sure all their passengers are wearing life vests could face fines of $100 to $1.500 and between 10 days and 6 months in jail.
Coleman said her goal is to name the ordinance in memory of Walls.
