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Article
US, City fights noisy parties, barking dogs
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24/may/2006 |
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City fights noisy parties, barking dogs
By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published May 24, 2006, 5:36 PM CDT
Just in time for warm-weather revelry, the Chicago
City Council today approved a crackdown on noisy back-yard parties that
calls for fines of up to $1,000 for repeat offenders.
Also, an ordinance was proposed under which a barking dog could cost its owner $50 to $250 a day.
Under the dog ordinance introduced by Ald. Danny Solis (25th),
excessive barking is defined as "any continued, repeated or habitual
barking, whining, crying, howling, whimpering or loud noise common to
an animal's species that exceeds more than 10 consecutive minutes in
duration."
People "have a right to a restful sleep," said Solis, adding that
incessantly barking canines have become a troublesome quality-of-life
issue.
The barking also may be a sign of a problem "with how the dog is being
taken care of by that owner," Solis said. His proposal will first have
to be considered at the committee level.
The noise-control ordinance passed without debate on a unanimous vote.
It makes it illegal for anyone on private property to play music
that is "louder than an average conversational level at a distance of
100 feet or more" between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Ald. Ray Suarez (31st), the measure's sponsor, has said the city's
existing noise pollution ordinance is too difficult to enforce because
it requires a sound-measuring device that is fragile, expensive and not
carried by police.
Under the new ordinance, responding officers would use their judgment to determine if a party was too loud.
A first offense would mean a $300 ticket. The penalty would rise to
$500 for a second violation within a one-year period and to $1,000 for
a third.
Separately, aldermen approved Mayor Richard Daley's nomination of Raymond Orozco as the city's new fire commissioner.
Orozco, a 26-year department veteran and son of former Fire
Commissioner Raymond Orozco Sr., was selected by Daley for the job in
March. He succeeds Cortez Trotter, who the mayor named the city's new
emergency planning chief.
gwashburn@tribune.com
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