SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (NEXSTAR) — The DeWitt County Sheriff’s Office is opposing a new law proposal that would prohibit state police from conducting common traffic stops, but the bill’s sponsor said it was just meant to start a conversation.
According to the bill’s summary , police in Illinois would be stripped of the ability to pull over a driver for expired registration, not following the general speed limit, tinted windows, not wearing a seatbelt or improper lane usage. The exception would be in the event that an offense qualifies as a misdemeanor or felony.
Motorists also could not be stopped for violating vehicle lamp requirements, excessive exhaust or defective mirrors, windshields, windshield wipers or bumpers.
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The bill’s sponsor said this bill is only meant to open a dialogue about cutting back on these stops.
“For decades, Illinois has wrestled with the challenge of racial bias in traffic stops, and the disparate outcomes that are too often the result,” Bill sponsor Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago) said in a statement. “At no point in this effort has anyone’s goal been to take away the tools police need to keep communities safe, but instead to continue an important conversation. House Bill 4603 continues that conversation. It’s my hope that discussions with law enforcement and advocates can identify minor infractions that on their own do not necessitate a traffic stop.”