The head of a civilian oversight commission has voiced concerns about proposed changes to the Chicago Police Department’s traffic stop policy, emphasizing that the revised guidelines would still permit officers to pull over drivers for minor offenses.
President of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, Anthony Driver, argued for a complete ban on stops for certain violations, including missing front license plates, nonfunctioning headlights, and excessively loud music.
“In a city where I can get robbed and it takes them an hour to show up on the scene, why would we have police officers pulling people over for a light bulb on the top of their license plate?” Driver remarked.
These types of stops are known as “pretextual,” as officers utilize them to investigate potentially more serious crimes, such as possession of illegal firearms or drugs.
Traffic stops in Chicago saw a significant increase in 2015 when the department reduced pedestrian stops following a settlement due to a critical report from the ACLU of Illinois.
According to state data, these stops have disproportionately affected people of color and have not frequently resulted in the recovery of drugs or guns.
Police department leaders have, in recent years, encouraged officers to increase their stop numbers, leading to potentially dangerous situations for both police and community members.
The draft policy aims to eliminate any quotas or bonuses tied to traffic stops, a move that the commission supports.
Additionally, it proposes enhanced reporting measures; officers would be required to provide a “Stop Receipt” at the conclusion of stops that do not lead to an arrest, summarizing the actions taken.
However, the commission expressed disappointment that pretextual stops for minor infractions would still be permissible under the new policy.
Driver stated that while the commission is largely in agreement with the police department—saying they concur with “90 percent” of the proposed policy—there remains a strong desire to foster trust between the community and law enforcement.
He stressed the importance of this relationship in addressing violent crime, saying, “If you see somebody driving erratically and they have expired tags, pull them over. If there are four people in the car with ski masks and they have expired tags, pull them over.”
Nevertheless, he insisted that stops made for minor violations, such as tags expired for under six months, should not be prioritized.
“A majority of the commission believes that’s a waste of police resources,” Driver continued.
The police department currently faces a staffing crisis, with nearly 2,000 fewer officers than it had in recent years, which strengthens the commission’s argument.
“I’m a person who very strongly cares about public safety and I don’t want to put the police in a position where they can’t keep our community safe,” Driver explained.
He acknowledged the challenges of rebuilding the department, saying, “We’re never going to get back over 13,000 police officers in the next five or 10 years. We’ve been hemorrhaging officers. So we’ve got to do more with the officers that we have. Which means we have to free up some resources.”
Recent statistics indicate that traffic stops in Chicago have been declining, with police officers making 293,150 stops in 2024—a decrease of 45% from the previous year, according to police data and the Illinois Department of Transportation.
However, a recent investigation by the Sun-Times revealed a troubling trend: more traffic stops have ended in violence.
In 2024, officers reported using force in 787 instances during traffic stops, marking the highest figure since 2018, which was the first full year that officers were subjected to stricter reporting requirements.
The finalized traffic stop policy could become part of a federal court order mandating comprehensive reforms within the police department.
An independent monitoring team charged with overseeing the implementation of this consent decree has recommended that traffic stops be included in its watchful scrutiny.
Nonetheless, some community organizers advocating for an end to all pretextual stops argue that tying them to the consent decree could delay much-needed reforms.
Alderman Anthony Napolitano, a former police officer, countered the commission’s proposed restrictions, defending the efficacy of traffic stops in revealing more serious crimes.
“As you make your stops based on laws and somebody breaking those laws, other crimes are usually discovered at that time,” Napolitano told the Sun-Times. “It’s called good policing. You’re maintaining and monitoring the neighborhoods you’re sent to.”
John Catanzara, President of the Fraternal Order of Police, expressed disappointment over the commission’s feedback process, stating that he felt his input went unheard.
“I say give them the city they want. … Eliminate all of these pretextual traffic stops altogether,” Catanzara argued.
He continued, “Let’s stop getting guns off the street. Let’s stop getting armed robbers and aggravated battery offenders off the street, because that’s what a lot of these traffic stops lead to. Let’s just stop it all. No problem.”
image source from：https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2025/04/24/oversight-chief-hits-traffic-stop-rules-chicago-police
