A resolution proposed by Illinois lawmakers would urge Congress to pass a law allowing for federally-funded highways, notably the Dan Ryan Expressway, to be converted to tollways in an effort to stem gun violence.
The measure, HR 0016, was introduced by State Rep. Thaddeus Jones in January and will go before House committees beginning this week.
According to the text of the bill, lawmakers understand the Interstate Highway Act to prohibit federally-funded highways from being converted to state tollways without the approval of Congress.
In the past, Congress has authorized tolls to be collected on some interstates for purposes of roadway improvements, and Illinois already has multiple toll roads, including the Jane Addams, the Veterans Memorial Tollway, and the Tri-State Tollway.
Instead of seeking funds for roadway improvements, the bill would implore federal lawmakers to create toll roads to help deter shootings on Chicago-area expressways.
The resolution cited a 2021 NBC 5 Investigates report about expressway shootings increasing on area roadways. In the first nine months of 2021, there were a total of 185 expressway shootings in the Chicago area, more than double the previous year and a 45% increase over the 128 shootings in the entirety of 2020.
“A state tollway system could serve to reduce violence by making it more difficult for these opportunistic shootings to take place,” according to lawmakers.
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More-recent data shows a different trend. According to Illinois State Police, the number of expressway shootings dropped 47% in 2022 thanks in large part to new technologies and increased enforcement efforts. The number of expressway homicides were reduced by 88%.
“After an unprecedented number of expressway shootings in the Chicago area in 2021, the Illinois State Police mobilized resources agency-wide, including troopers, air operations, forensic services and criminal investigation special agents, which cut the number of expressway shootings in 2022 almost in half,” ISP Director Brendan Kelly said in a press release.
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There were a total of 140 shootings in 2022, which resulted in 60 injuries and three deaths, officials said. More than 1,500 arrests occurred and the number of traffic stops increased to more than 25,000, with 342 illegal weapons recovered in those stops.
The Dan Ryan Expressway begins at the Jane Byrne Interchange, traveling south for more than 11 miles. Interstates 90 and 94 are combined for most of the Dan Ryan's path through the city, but Interstate 94 branches off into the Skyway near 63rd Street.
Interstate 94 continues southward before it moves toward the southeast near 95th Street, becoming the Bishop Ford Freeway. Interstate 57 also begins at that location, heading toward the southwest.
