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Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias speaks at a news conference on Jan. 29, 2026. (WTTW News)
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The explosive growth in the use of electronic bikes, scooters, skateboards and other “micromobility” devices by Illinoisans has caught state officials flat-footed.
Now legislators, educators, transportation advocates and others are attempting to play catch-up.
Riders, drivers and pedestrians have been “navigating a system designed for a different era,” Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias said during a press conference Thursday. “Times have changed, it's important for us to provide some guidelines.”
Giannoulias and other stakeholders announced a new initiative — “Ride Safe, Ride Smart, Ride Ready" — designed to establish guardrails around currently unregulated devices, particularly a class of larger and faster e-bikes, called e-motos, capable of reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour.
Some backstory:
The lack of restrictions on where this new group of devices can be operated, and who can operate them, has put lives at risk, Giannoulias said, citing a pair of high-profile fatalities involving e-bikes: A Mt. Prospect teen riding an e-bike was killed in 2025 when he collided with a pick-up truck; and in 2022, an Illinois State University official died after he was struck by an e-bike rider in Bloomington-Normal.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam and state Rep. Barbara Hernandez will help introduce legislation that will update state standards. Villivalam is chair of the senate transportation committee and Hernandez is vice-chair of the same committee in the house.
While Villivalam praised e-bikes and the like as affordable, environmentally-friendly transportation alternatives to cars, laws haven't kept pace with the technology, he said, creating a hazardous environment as the devices go “whizzing by” on sidewalks, roads and paths.
The intent of the legislation will be “modernizing our approach with clear statewide standards," he said.
For example, the existing vehicle code restricts the operation of lower-speed e-bikes — the fastest of which max out under 30 mph — to riders age 16 and older and prohibits their use on sidewalks. Riders of low-speed e-scooters must be 18 years old, per state regulations. Meanwhile, there's no age limit on operating high-speed e-bikes, e-scooters, electric skateboards, electric unicycles or e-motos, which Giannoulias called “more motorcycle than bicycle."
Municipalities across the state have stepped in to enact their own laws around the devices, which has created a patchwork of rules.
“The lack of clarity … is downright dangerous,” said Giannoulias.
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Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino with federal agents in Minneapolis on January 8, 2026. (AP Photo / Tom Baker)
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A state commission formed to document abuses during a series of increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement raids across Chicago and the suburbs should probe the conduct of senior Trump administration aides, Gov. JB Pritzker said late last week.
The Illinois Accountability Commission should “review and document available information related to the statements, policy decisions and roles of the following administration individuals that have led to the escalation of aggressive enforcement tactics during the course of Operation Midway Blitz,” the governor’s office announced in a statement.
Pritzker said the commission should focus its probe on:
Stephen Miller, President Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser
Border czar Tom Homan
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem
Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino
Tricia McLaughlin, spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security
Corey Lewandowski, Department of Homeland Security
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons
Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott.
“For too long, Gregory Bovino and his rogue federal agents have terrorized communities in Illinois and across the country, violated our people’s constitutional rights and unleashed violence at every turn,” Pritzker said. “Greg Bovino, Kristi Noem and Donald Trump’s other lackeys should find lawyers because they must still be held responsible for the killings and the damage they’ve done to our country.”
Pritzker singled out Bovino, who was apparently demoted after federal agents shot and killed Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Their deaths heightened tensions over the aggressive immigration raids launched by Trump to carry out the largest mass deportation effort in U.S. history.
The statement from the governor’s office did not detail how state officials would hold the federal officials accountable. In most cases, state and local law enforcement officials are prohibited from charging federal officials for reasonable conduct that occurred during the course of their official duties.
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A still from the short film “We Call Each Other” directed by Sarah Oberholtzer, screening at the short film series “Life Within the Lens” at Music Box Theater on Feb. 23 for Black History Month. (Courtesy of Sarah Oberholtzer)
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In celebration of Black History Month, Chicago filmmakers will be showing their short films at Music Box Theater and Facets in programs presented by local film programmer Tyler Michael Balentine.
“Seeing the great amount of work that local Black filmmakers have been making in the city, I just believe that this is the best time to go ahead and show those things,” Balentine said.
The film program “Sunday’s Best” at Facets presents a collection of short films by a local filmmaker each week, along with a pre-show introduction, post-show Q&A and reception. Screenings are every Sunday, from Feb. 8 to March 1, at 2 p.m.
More context:
In addition, the seventh edition of the local short film series “Life Within the Lens” at Music Box Theater is on Feb. 23 at 7 p.m., featuring filmmakers Sanicole, Phil Lee, Eve Wright, Sarah Oberholtzer, Luchina Fisher, Jacob Sutton and Shiloh Tumo Washington.
The “Life Within the Lens” short film series, which began in 2024, is also held during Hispanic Heritage Month, in addition to Black History Month and Juneteenth.
“I really do believe that right now, with what I’m doing, it is strengthening the presence of Black filmmakers in the eyes of producers, in the eyes of organizers, in the eyes of people,” Balentine said. “Our presence is stronger now with these programs.”
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More From WTTW News:
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Chicagoans can now vote to name one of Chicago’s snowplows “Abolish ICE,” linking the pun to efforts to oppose President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. That's one of 25 finalists that are up for a vote between Sunday and Feb. 14, with the top six vote-getters winning the honor of
renaming one snowplow in each of Chicago’s six snow districts.
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Back in the Day: February 2, 2011 - “Snowmageddon”
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This weekend, Chicago was smacked with a couple of rounds of lake effect snow. While it accumulated just a few inches, it was nothing compared to the blizzard that enveloped Chicago 15 years ago. Better known by its nicknames “Snowpocalypse,” “Snowmaggedon,” or the “Groundhog Day Blizzard,” the storm started on January 31, 2011 and unleashed 21.2 inches of snow across the city. Winds reached 70 miles per hour. Drivers had to abandon their vehicles on Lake Shore Drive, and it took the city an entire day to clear the ditched cars from the expressway. Tens of thousands of Chicagoans were left without power. Classes were canceled at schools and universities throughout the
city. It remains the third biggest snowstorm in the city’s history.
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This Week’s Civic Events and Meetings
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Every Monday, WTTW News highlights the best ways to get involved with local government.
City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy
On Tuesday at 10 a.m., the City Council’s Committee on Environmental Protection and Energy will hold a regular meeting. Among the items on its agenda are support for the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) reclamation study and the Lincoln Park Zoo and Chicago Bird Alliance's Rat Contraceptive Pilot Program. Click here for more details.
Chicago Park District
The Chicago Park District has finalized its Grant Park Framework Plan, which reimagines “Chicago's Front Yard.” The historic downtown green space hasn’t seen a major upgrade in a decade, since the opening of Maggie Daley Park. On Wednesday at 6 p.m., the Park District is hosting a Zoom info session detailing the latest version of its improvement plans. You can access the meeting at the appropriate time here.
WTTW
Join WTTW Saturday at the Kehrein Center For The Arts for a screening of the Chicago Stories documentary, “When the West Side Burned,” which follows an "unprecedented period of mourning and destruction on the city’s West Side" following the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. After the 4 p.m. film presentation, the program also includes a concert by Chicago trumpeter and bandleader Orbert Davis, who composed the film’s score, and a community conversation moderated by WTTW senior producer Dan Andries. Click here for more details
and to RSVP.
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What's the one thing out-of-towners get wrong about
Chicago?
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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