Today, the Illinois House approved House Bill 1613, a measure that would make permanent the current practice of collecting data about traffic and pedestrian stops conducted by police in the State of Illinois. The practice has been in place in Illinois since 2004 when then-State Senator Barack Obama championed the law.  

The following can be attributed to Khadine Bennett, Advocacy and Intergovernmental Affairs Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois: 

“Today’s vote in support of House Bill 1613 by the Illinois House continues Illinois’ commitment to improving community-police relations across the state. Collecting data about traffic and pedestrian stops gives law enforcement agencies a critical tool to manage potential bias in policing. By making data collection permanent, we preserve that tool to improve accountability of police agencies and create opportunities for dialogue between the police and the public they serve. 

We applaud State Representative Justin Slaughter for his leadership in moving this measure through the House. More importantly, we look forward to passage of this critical measure in the Illinois Senate.”