CHICAGO - An alderman is pushing for an ordinance that would prevent the city's restaurants from cooking with oils that contain artificial trans fatty acids, which contribute to heart disease.

"Chicago has the opportunity to take a bold step and protect its citizens from the ravages of unhealthy trans fats by banning their use in restaurants," Alderman Edward M. Burke said Wednesday in a statement about an ordinance he is proposing. "The end result could well be longer, healthier lives and reduced health costs for many Chicagoans."

The proposal won praise from the Washington D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest.

"Partially hydrogenated oils kill tens of thousands of Americans each year, and healthier oils for deep-frying are abundant," the organization's executive director said in a statement.

The ordinance is the latest attack on oils with high trans fat content. Last month a doctor in Maryland and a consumer group sued KFC to try to stop the chicken chain from cooking with oils high in trans fat content.

The Food and Drug Administration says trans fat raises bad cholesterol and just this year started requiring food labels to list trans fats.

Under Burke's proposal, restaurants found cooking with oils containing "artificial trans fats" would be fined $200 to $1,000 a day.