According to recently released statistics from the Illinois Department of Transportation, Black, and Latino drivers were more likely to be stopped by law enforcement than White drivers in 2022.
Black drivers were nearly four times more likely to be stopped by police than White drivers in both Chicago and Bloomington, five times more likely in Springfield – the state capital – and six times more likely in Aurora and Peoria.
Latino drivers, meanwhile, also saw a greater chance of being pulled over by police across the state and each of those cities; a discrimination lawsuit filed by five Black and Latino Chicago residents alleges precisely that these are the circumstances and that such treatment cannot be legally justified.
As noted by the Illinois ACLU on the topic, “The data is collected and released pursuant to the Illinois Traffic and Pedestrian Stop Statistical Study Act, first passed by the Illinois legislature in 2003 under the sponsorship of then-State Senator Barack Obama. The Act requires all police departments in Illinois to record and report data about the traffic stops they conduct, including the race of the driver, the reason for the stop, and the outcome of the stop.”
