Fleeing a traffic stop is only a misdemeanor in Illinois, and police chiefs want to change that

By Jermont Terry

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    CHICAGO (WBBM) — The punishment for taking off during a traffic stop is only a misdemeanor in Illinois—and law enforcement leaders are looking to fight back against such offenses, which amount to an ongoing problem.

Police chiefs across Chicagoland say they need stricter laws, saying more and more drivers take off when officers pull them over. They hope a new push in Springfield will give law enforcement the much-needed backing to stop it.

A crash in Palatine on Thursday, according to police, was the result of a reckless driver. A man behind the wheel of a black sport-utility vehicle was speeding down the street.

In surveillance video, flashing police lights are seen six seconds after the crash on Rand Road—which left four people hospitalized. Police said the driver refused to stop.

“And this is a dangerous problem for all of our communities,” said Naperville police Chief Jason Arres.

Arrest pointed to an incident that played out just last month in Naperville—when two Naperville police cruisers tried to block in a Mercedes sport-utility vehicle.

The driver rammed into one of the cruisers and took off. Officers pursued.

Yet under current Illinois law, if caught, drivers who bolt from traffic stops would only be eligible to be charged with misdemeanors.

“I think, with the law being a misdemeanor right now, there’s not a lot of accountability or fear of the punishment that comes with a misdemeanor offense,” said Arres.

Some Illinois state legislators want to change that. Illinois Senate Bill 1807 looks to make “fleeing or attempting to elude” an officer by car a felony.

Chief Arres said such a measure is long overdue—especially looking at the situation in Naperville.

In 2019, Naperville saw 30 vehicles speed off from police, and in four years, Naperville now averages 137 vehicles doing so annually.

“I think a big part of it is, if we’re not chasing, word gets out—’Take off, and they’re not going to chase you,'” Arres said. “So you know, people talk.”

Over in south suburban Lynwood, which sits along the Indiana state line, police Chief Gregory Thomas said drivers take advantage of Illinois law.

“It’s almost comical,” Thomas said. “When we do certain traffic stops, or we detain subjects, they will ask, ‘Is this Indiana, or is this Illinois?'”

Thomas said drivers know police in Indiana will chase, while Illinois departments face restrictions—and if the drivers do bolt, it is only a misdemeanor.

“The criminal entity understands jurisdiction lines,” said Thomas, “and when the criminal element know that they’re in Illinois – and sometime in particular Cook County – they take advantage of that.”

The chiefs added that most people who take off or elude officers are often trying to hide something illegal in the vehicles.

The state Senate bill would not only make running from police a felony, btu increase jail time anywhere from one to three if convicted.

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