SPRINGFIELD – If the recommendations of a task force on distracted driving can be made into law, Chuck and Gloria Wilhelm feel like the work they have done since their son died almost two years ago will have been well worth it.

"With the widespread grassroots support of our coalition, we have done our part. Now we need the Legislature to follow these recommendations and protect innocent people," the parents of Matt Wilhelm said in an e-mail to The News-Gazette.

The 25-year-old mechanical engineer who grew up in Champaign died on Sept. 8, 2006, from injuries he received while bicycling. He was hit from behind by a young woman in a car who was downloading ring tones to her cell phone.

She pleaded guilty to the petty traffic offense of improper lane usage and was fined $1,000.

Since then, the elder Wilhelms, now of Bourbonnais, have worked zealously to educate the public about the dangers of driving while using cell phones and engaging in multitasking.

They have done countless newspaper and television interviews, worked with Parkland College to produce a distracted-driving DVD that is being shown in high schools, and have allowed their son's picture to be emblazoned on billboards and buses.

Their efforts sparked the creation of a nine-member task force on distracted driving, chaired by Secretary of State Jesse White, that issued a report late last month. Among other things, the task force recommends making distracted driving a crime.

Task force members include Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Champaign, Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, and Champaign County State's Attorney Julia Rietz, who was openly criticized for her unwillingness to charge the woman who hit Matt Wilhelm with a crime.

But Rietz defended her decision, saying there was nothing in the criminal code that fit what happened. She helped draft legislation, sponsored by Black, that she hopes will fill that gap.

Other task force members included representatives of the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

They recommended:

– Legislation to make it unlawful for a driver to operate a motor vehicle while creating, sending or reading a text message. (The only exception would be in the case of an emergency.)

– Creation of the offense of negligent vehicular operation. A person whose negligent driving caused a crash but no injury would receive a moving violation ticket.

– Creation of the offense of aggravated negligent vehicular operation. A person whose negligent driving caused a crash that resulted in serious injury would be charged with a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, a $2,500 fine and a one-year revocation of driving privileges.

– Creation of the offense of negligent vehicular homicide. If a person's negligent driving resulted in another's death, the offense would be a Class 4 felony punishable by one to three years in prison, a fine up to $25,000 and the revocation of driving privileges for no less than a year.

Only task force member Ed Maloney of the state bar association voted against the recommendations for the negligent vehicular operation and homicide laws.

Rietz said Maloney, on behalf of defense attorneys, was concerned about the definition of negligence being used: "... fails to be aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk of death or injury to others and that failure constitutes a substantial deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise under the circumstances."

"There is a view that criminal charges should require a higher mental culpability, that mere negligence isn't enough for criminal charges," Rietz said, summarizing Maloney's concern.

– That a law be passed requiring commercial driver training schools to teach a distracted-driving curriculum.

– That a law be passed prohibiting the use of cell phones in marked construction or school zones in Illinois.

– That police officers receive more training on filing reports that include all influences that may have contributed to a crash and that IDOT publish statistics showing the relationship between the use of cell phones and other kinds of distracted driving and crashes.

– That the insurance industry be encouraged to provide incentives or discounts to businesses that prohibit employees from using electronic devices while using a company vehicle, except in an emergency.

Rietz said that as a prosecutor she approves of the proposed negligent vehicular operation statutes.

"I like the fact they give us increasing sentencing options based on the severity of the harm inflicted on the victim. That gives prosecutors tools we don't currently have to address these issues," she said.

"Now officers use the catch-all improper lane usage when there's a traffic accident. It's not necessarily a function of whether you were properly in your lane. It's more due to general negligent driving," she said.

The Wilhelms are big fans of education. But they recognize that education alone won't change everyone's behavior.

"We need deterrents that will discourage distracted driving ... like companies forbidding employees (from using cell phones and electronic devices) due to precedent-setting lawsuits," they wrote in their e-mail.

"Drivers need to ask: 'Is this call worth the risk?' It won't be if penalties are severe. These are preventable crashes. There needs to be a consequence for intentionally putting people at risk. It needs to be done now."