Last night, the Illinois Senate Criminal Law Committee approved House Bill 1613, a measure that would make permanent the current practice of collecting data about every traffic stop 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:
“Last night's strong vote by the Senate Criminal Law Committee moves this important legislation one step closer to final passage. As the Committee heard, collecting and analyzing data about traffic and pedestrian stops by police allows the public to provide appropriate transparency of law enforcement and serves as a critical tool for law enforcement supervisors to use in training and managing officers interacting with the public.
It is time to make this practice – which has been good policy for more than a decade – permanent. We look forward to passage of this measure by the full Senate. With the leadership of sponsor Senator Elgie Sims, we are confident that the measure will be on its way to the Governor.”
