When he ran for mayor in 2023, Brandon Johnson endorsed our group Bike Grid Now’s plan for a bike grid, a connected network of streets with safe infrastructure for active transportation on at least 10% of city streets.
To this day, the city has failed to meaningfully attempt to create a connected network of streets. It rarely puts down infrastructure that goes beyond paint and speed bumps, almost all of which end at superficial political borders. This limited scope of improvement has been shown to increase biking injuries. The city needs a different approach, something the mayor once supported.
Chicago said last year that it had built its 500th mile of “bikeway” — a catch-all term for places bikes are allowed to be, including Park District trails. However, it’s still difficult for cyclists to take a crosstown trip entirely on roads that are intended for bikes. Now, the mayor advocates against us and our right to safe infrastructure.
House Bill 2454 is a state bill that makes bicyclists the “intended users” of all city roads. This bill would reverse a 1998 Illinois Supreme Court decision, Boub v. Township of Wayne, which ruled that bikers are “permitted, but not intended, users of the roads” unless explicitly dictated by signage or infrastructure. The legacy of this disastrous decision is that on 90% of city roads, the city is not liable for an injury caused to us.
This bill would allow cyclists to hold the city accountable for road conditions the same way drivers hold it accountable. Maintaining the status quo is treating cyclists as second-class commuters.
Last month, the city of Chicago filed an opposition slip to this bill.
The city made its case to Streetsblog Chicago, declaring that bikers shouldn’t want accountability. “By exposing municipalities to sweeping liability and potential changes to roadway standards, the proposal would result in millions of dollars in new annual costs,” the statement reads. Should this legislation pass, those costs would then be diverted from future investments in cycling infrastructure, it goes on to say.
We ran the numbers, and the city’s estimate simply does not track with reality.
Chicago already pays damages to vehicle owners for poor road conditions. The city paid almost $666,000 in claims and settlements for injuries caused by street conditions between January and September 2025. The Active Transportation Alliance estimates that vehicles and bicycles account for 60% and 2% of all trips made in Chicago, respectively. If the vehicle claims total is scaled to bicycles, that number amounts to only $22,000 in claims over the same measuring period.
By asserting that this figure is truly in the millions, the city admits the conditions of its infrastructure are poor and considered a liability or has grossly overstated the true potential legal costs. Neither of these explanations is an acceptable reason to oppose liability.
Both of these figures, however, pale in comparison to the total economic damages caused by vehicle crashes. Using Chicago Police Department public reporting and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WISQARS model, Chicago Cityscape estimated $1.78 billion in damages caused by auto-on-auto accidents and $177 million in auto-on-bicycle injuries.
If the city were committed to investing in our safety, we wouldn’t need this legislation. But when the city fails to build a connected network of safe streets and maintains no liability, someone will get hurt. And they already have.
The city ended its statement to Streetsblog by saying it is open to continued conversations with advocates and the legislation’s sponsors. Conversation is good, and we are open to it — when it is backed up by meaningful action.
We call on the mayor and his administration to reverse its opposition to HB 2454.
Charna Albert and Nik Hunder are organizers with Chicago, Bike Grid Now!
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