RACINE COUNTY -- Sister Janet Weyker adores her 30 chickens as much as many people love their dogs and cats, especially because she gets some extra benefits from her pets.

"The satisfaction of knowing I've got good, healthy eggs, safe eggs to eat, no antibiotics connected to it," said Sister Janet Weyker, director of the Eco-Justice Center in Racine County.

But in Racine city limits, domestic chickens are illegal.
 
Alderman Greg Helding is hoping a new law will fly, allowing Racine residents to keep a few hens in a backyard coop.
 
The alderman attended the city's Board of Health meeting to hear testimony from experts like Ron Kean, U-W Extension poultry specialist, who said chickens pose no more health risks than any other pets.
 
But some at the meeting cried foul, saying poultry could plague the community with salmonella outbreaks and even avian flu.

"There is a potential problem, and the potential problem is that people are going to die from it," said Sue DeKeuster, a community member who presented the committee with her research.

"It's a possibility, but I believe a pretty remote possibility," said Ron Kean, U-W Extension poultry specialist.

Sister Janet says the benefits of free range chickens outweigh any risk.
 
That's why she founded her Eco-Justice Center and is supporting the urban chicken movement in places like Madison, where the law has passed, and Racine, where the health board approved the idea today.

Chicken advocates have just begun pecking away at many hurdles they must overcome in Racine, which Sister Janet expects will take at least 18 more months.
 
Next the council must draft an ordinance, conduct public hearings and vote on it,  before pet chickens even have a chance of roaming in racine backyard coops.

CBS 58's Diane Moca has the story.