Jesse White - Illinois Secretary of State

By Monique Garcia Tribune reporter

Gov. Pat Quinn on Thursday is scheduled to sign into law a measure barring motorists from sending text messages while driving.

Illinois would join 14 other states and Washington in prohibiting the practice, which safety advocates say is dangerous and leads to crashes. The law would allow police to stop and ticket motorists for sending text messages, downloading ring tones or surfing the Internet on their mobile phones. It would take effect Jan. 1.

by Ted Gregory