Traffic Stops of Black Drivers Hits 20-Year High in Illinois
An officer conducts a traffic stop in Austin, a West Side neighborhood that has ranked No. 1 in Chicago in recent years for traffic stops. Matt Kiefer / WBEZ
WBEZ, the NPR station in Chicago and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity looked through 30 percent of all traffic stops. Black drivers face more than 30 percent of all traffic stops in our state, as of the last two years. That’s a rate that’s about double their population. Depending on where you look downstate, the picture can be even more striking. In 2022, 60 percent of the drivers Peoria Police pulled over were Black. Only 34 percent were white drivers. See the graphic below for the percentages across the state.
Editor's note: Peoria, Bloomington, and Moline police departments did not respond to our requests for comment. Comments with Champaign and DeKalb responded.
Guests:
Matt Kiefer
Data Editor, WBEZ
Michael Liptrot
Multimedia Journalist, Producer, WBEZ
Teresa Haley
President, Springfield NAACP