New Illinois law requires life rings at all piers and access points along Lake Michigan
CHICAGO (CBS)-- Big changes are coming to Lake Michigan. Under a state law just signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, starting in one year, life rings must be installed along the Lakefront.
The Lake Michigan Rescue Equipment Act requires all private and government-owned piers and drop-off points to be equipped with rescue gear such as easily accessible flotation devices or life rings.
It's something water safety advocates have been fighting for for years.
Last September, the Chicago Park District reluctantly began installing life rings at beaches with lifeguards and at Pratt Pier ahead of the 2022 beach season.
"I did notice recently, just in the last few weeks, that they were put up," Grace Mitchell said as she visited Fullerton Beach on Friday.
Now, starting next June, it will be law to install them at every access point on the lake.
Mitchell said the bright orange rings are a sigh of relief
"Peace of mind is the biggest part, just in case there were to be anything that happened. I've always felt comfortable in the lake. Luckily, I don't go very far. I'm not too adventurous. But just that peace of mind; if someone were to go out a little too far, that I could help them out as best as possible," she said.
This time last year, the Chicago Park District argued that life rings would encourage swimming in prohibited areas, and feared they would be held liable if someone used a life ring improperly and weren't able to save someone who was drowning.
But advocates for life rings argued that while they won't save every life, they could make all the difference for just one life.
Under pressure, the park district did finally relent, installing 115 life rings along the lakefront within the last few weeks.
Water safety advocates have said life rings could have saved the life of 19-year-old Miguel Cisneros. Last August, he drowned within feet of Pratt Pier in Rogers Park as people tried to help, with nothing to throw him. His mother said a life ring could have saved his life.
That inspired the Lake Michigan Rescue Equipment Act, a bill introduced in the Illinois General Assembly just two months later.
The new law signed by the governor on Thursday requires water rescue devices such as life rings, throw bags, rescue tubes, or rescue poles on all public and private piers and drop-off points along Lake Michigan.
Warnings also must be posted in areas deemed high-risk.
More than 1,000 people have drowned in Lake Michigan since 2010.
