Ordinance would be tougher than one adopted last month
Rockford - Some Rockford aldermen want to put more teeth into the dity's canine codes.
Just three weeks after the city council adopted the county's vicious dog ordinance, the city's Codes and Regulations Committee wants to pass a tougher law - one that would muzzle resident pit bulldogs and ban any new ones.
Ald. John Anderson, R-14th, said he pushed for a breed-specific ofinance because he wasn't happy with the coynty's watered-down version. The proposal affects only about 1 percent of all registered dog owners in Rockford, he aded.
"I care more about people than I do dogs… and this dog was bred to kill," said Anderson. He added that about 95 percent of all dog-bite deaths stem from pit bulldog attacks.
Ald. Leonard Jacobson, D-6th, said he opposes the plan because it unfairly singles out one breed of dog. He added that the existing vicious dog law -- which passed Jan. 30 after almost two years of compromise and discussion -- is sufficient.
"I think we need to give this ordinance a chance to work," Jacobson said. "There are biters in all breeds … the (existing) law addresses that."
Dog owner groups have complained that breed-specific laws hurt responsible dog owners and are the first step in outlawing all dogs. The council previously rejected versions of the laws banning or regulating pit bulls.
The proposed ordinance, approved by the Codes and Regulations Committee and up for a vote before the full council Tuesday, requires that all owners buy a $25 license at City Hall for their purebred or mixed-breed pit bulldogs.
Rockford Register Star, Rockford, IL, February 20, 1989, p. 1
Jan 30, 1989 Kane County Considers New Law After Pit Bull Attacks
Kane county - The ordinance is being considered as a result of the death of Kevin B. Cull, a Northern Illinois University graduate student, who was mauled by two pit bull terriers last November in unincorporated Geneva Township.
The dogs` owner, Thomas Kennedy, was not charged with a crime because
``there is nothing on the books that allowed us to provide charges against him,`` Busch said, referring to the Illinois Animal Control Act. The dogs were put to death by lethal injection earlier this month.
Under the new ordinance, an owner may be considered guilty of a crime if a dog ``attacks any human without provocation and inflicts severe injury or death,`` Busch said.
Read more:
Chicago Tribune
Related posts:
Nov 12, 1988 Dekalb Pit Bull Kills NIU Student
Historical post:
Aug 16 1901 Springfield Sheriff's wife killed by bulldog
The dogs` owner, Thomas Kennedy, was not charged with a crime because
``there is nothing on the books that allowed us to provide charges against him,`` Busch said, referring to the Illinois Animal Control Act. The dogs were put to death by lethal injection earlier this month.
Under the new ordinance, an owner may be considered guilty of a crime if a dog ``attacks any human without provocation and inflicts severe injury or death,`` Busch said.
Read more:
Chicago Tribune
Related posts:
Nov 12, 1988 Dekalb Pit Bull Kills NIU Student
Historical post:
Aug 16 1901 Springfield Sheriff's wife killed by bulldog
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