Chicago lawmaker proposes cracking down on Pokemon Go sites

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Invasive weeds have long threatened to erode dunes on a portion of the Chicago lakefront, but the area recently had to contend with a virtual invasion: "Pokemon Go" characters.

The game sends players into the real world in search of digital monsters that appear on smartphone screens to be caught, and hundreds of people have been flocking to the Loyola Dunes restoration area too find the hard-to-get "Lapras." But in their quest to find the rare creature, players have been walking over native grassland critical to protecting the dunes from erosion.

The heavy foot-traffic became so worrisome to environmentalists that proposed legislation seeks to get certain sites removed from the game so players are only disturbing the virtual Pokemon characters and not ecologically sensitive areas in their quest to catch them.

"It should not be trampled and stampeded in that way," said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who is sponsoring the bill.

Cassidy's bill would require app developers to remove locations in augmented reality games within two days of receiving a request to do so or face a daily fine of $100.

"We just want to make sure that the imaginary animals can co-exist with the real wildlife in our parks and natural areas," said Jack Darin, director of the Sierra Club's Illinois chapter.

The proposal is one of the first of its kind in the country, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In New York, lawmakers are considering legislation to restrict sex offenders' use of augmented reality games.