A recent Illinois Department of Transportation survey of traffic stops in Illinois says that black and brown drivers are still being pulled over disproportionately to whites.
According to statewide data in 2020, Illinois traffic stops were cut nearly in half due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the IDOT report, the monthly report data reveals the direct impact of the virus on people’s travels correlating with the number of traffic stops that occurred.
According to the traffic stop numbers in the data, despite being stopped more, black drivers received nearly 20% less citations than white drivers.
The numbers show that in Jacksonville and South Jacksonville, the numbers appear to be closer to proportionate with rates of 1.7 to 1 in Jacksonville and 1.5 to 1 in South Jacksonville.
The Morgan County Sheriff’s Department shows a disproportionate rate of 3.5 black drivers being pulled over to every white driver. Latino’s are even more disproportionate at 3.9 to 1, with black and Latino being searched and cited less.
The Sheriff’s office averages are both higher than the statewide averages for the other departments who were surveyed for the study. View the full study at this link.