SAfter a rash of deadly unsolved shootings in Chicago on Illinois expressways, the Illinois House passed a bill co-sponsored by State Representative Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) to increase the presence of expressway cameras to gather evidence to identify the responsible attackers.
The Illinois State Police previously announced they were installing surveillance cameras throughout the Chicago-area expressways to assist in deterring expressway shootings and finding the offenders in 2017. There have been 168 shootings on expressways in the last three years, but only seven arrests. The legislation will help improve that arrest rate by requiring the Illinois State Police, the Illinois Department of Transportation, and the Illinois State Toll-Highway Authority to work together to help find these criminal shooters.
“It is abhorrent that people avoid our expressways because they feel they are sitting ducks for potential shooters. Travelers on our expressways should not be soft targets for criminals; we need to reinforce security to ensure no-one has to worry about deadly bullets on their work commute,” Mazzochi explained.
House Bill 331, whose chief sponsor is Thaddeus Jones (D – South Holland) passed the House of Representatives 109-0, and it now moves to the State Senate for consideration. For more information please reach out to Rep. Mazzochi’s office at mazzochi@ilhousegop.org or by calling (630) 852-8633.