To catch freeway shooters, Illinois is installing more cameras – StateScoop

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday signed laws to position extra cameras on expressways all through the state and authorize regulation enforcement to make use of the pictures collected to unravel crimes. 

Pritzker mentioned in a press launch that the invoice he signed, Home Invoice 4481, is a response to a rash of shootings on Illinois’ freeways. There have been 264 reported shootings on the state’s highways final yr, leading to 22 deaths and 114 accidents, based on Pritzker’s workplace.

“There’s nothing extra vital than holding Illinoisans protected—in our colleges, in our parks, and on our expressways,” Pritzker mentioned within the launch. “The tragic incidences of gun violence on our highways requires aggressive and intentional motion. By signing this invoice, regulation enforcement businesses could have the instruments to reply to prison exercise in a well timed and environment friendly method—guaranteeing the protection and safety of our residents, whereas holding perpetrators accountable.”

The brand new regulation, which attracts on $20 million from the fiscal 2023 price range, authorizes cameras to be put in in 22 of the state’s 102 counties. Pritzker additionally signed Home Invoice 260, permitting cameras to be put in alongside Chicago’s Jean-Baptiste Pointe DuSable Lake Shore Drive, a serious street that winds alongside Lake Michigan.

Along with the brand new laws, Illinois is at the moment putting in automated license plate readers on expressways to trace criminals all through the state. That work stems from the Tamara Clayton Expressway Digicam Act, a regulation enacted in 2019 after Clayton was shot and killed whereas driving on Interstate 57.

Drawing on a $12.5 million grant in 2021, the Illinois State Police and Division of Transportation have to this point put in greater than 150 plate readers, which passively scan site visitors looking for excellent warrants or wished criminals. The state plans to put in 300 readers by the tip of the venture.

And whereas Illinois ramps up its roadway surveillance, others are reining of their use of such know-how. The sheriff’s workplace in Marin County, California, final week agreed to cease sharing with state and federal businesses the information collected by its license-plate readers, following a authorized settlement.