Illinois sues Dave Matthews Band

CHICAGO -- Illinois' attorney general sued Dave Matthews Band Tuesday for allegedly dumping up to 800 pounds of foul-smelling waste from a tour bus into the Chicago River, dousing a tour boat filled with passengers.\nThe lawsuit accuses the band and one of its tour bus drivers, Stefan Wohl, of violating state water pollution and public nuisance laws. It seeks $70,000 in civil penalties.\n"Our driver has stated that he was not involved in this incident," band spokesman John Vlautin said in a statement. "We reserve judgment on anyone until we have seen the evidence. We have been and will continue to be cooperative in this investigation."\nAccording to the lawsuit, on Aug. 8 a bus leased by Dave Matthews Band was driving toward a downtown hotel where band members were staying for a performance in Wisconsin. As the bus crossed the grated Kinzie Street bridge, the driver allegedly emptied the contents of the bus' septic tank into the river below, the lawsuit alleged.\nAt that moment, more than 100 people on the Chicago's Little Lady architecture tour passed underneath the bridge and were showered with the human waste.\nThe attorney general's office said no one was seriously injured.\n"This incident may be unique, but that does not lessen the environmental or public health risks posed by the release of at least 800 pounds of liquid human waste into a busy waterway and onto a crowded tour boat," Attorney General Lisa Madigan said in a statement.\nAfter the incident, the boat's captain turned the vessel around and took passengers back to the dock. Everyone received refunds and the boat has since been cleaned with disinfectant.\nOfficials with the Chicago Architectural Foundation, which operates the tour boat, have said they received several angry calls from passengers demanding compensation for clothing and personal items that got soaked.