Category Archives: Traffic Violations
Lack of Convictions Spurs Search for Pot Test
Low numbers of arrests for driving high are perplexing the Illinois State Police, who are considering changes to the way they test for marijuana use behind the wheel. The search is on for a saliva test that can let cops know when a driver has consumed the drug. The kit would augment training that troopers… Read More »
Will I-Pass Data be Off Limits?
A state legislator hopes so. Rep. Margo McDermed wants to improve privacy protections around the details and usage patterns of the transponders that let drivers breeze through Tollway collection booths. Her bill would remove the power of courts to subpoena the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority for I-Pass records in civil cases, including accidents and… Read More »
Procedural Error Stays Ruling in Warrantless Search Appeal
Prosecutors seeking to pin weapons offenses on a Chicago man will have to content themselves with convictions for motor vehicle violations after judges in the 1st District Appellate Court ruled that cops failed to follow procedure when searching a car where a gun was found. Cops never asked Terrence Davis for proof of insurance after… Read More »
High Court Rules on Warrantless DUI Samples
Because cops had more than seven hours to obtain a warrant before they forcibly took samples of blood and urine from Ralph Eubanks, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that evidence used to convict him in a 2009 hit-and-run should have been supressed. This even as justices wrote that such searches are Constitutional when cops have probable… Read More »
Lightfoot Urges Lighter Approach to Cannabis in Cars
With recreational marijuana use becoming legal in Illinois at the turn of the year, Chicago’s mayor wants cops to lighten up on drivers found with weed in their vehicles. Democrat Lori Lightfoot’s initiative would cut fines and train CPD officers on new methods for investigation and enforcement. She also wants the city to stop its… Read More »
HIPPA Appeal Sets DUI Precedent in 7th Circuit
By denying an Indiana man’s claims that doctors and cops violated his right to privacy when they shared results of a hospital blood test, appellate judges in the US 7th Circuit drew a bright line for the treatment of patient information in drunk-driving arrests. Tyquan Stewart landed in Fort Wayne’s Parkview Hospital after wrecking his… Read More »
Is it Time to Stop to Red Light Cameras?
State lawmakers say it is after a raid by federal agents on the Springfield offices of one of their own. Senate Transportation Committee Chair Martin Sandoval, who has worked to push through legislation that would boost the uptake of cameras that record traffic flows, is the target of the FBI probe. He has accepted financial contributions from… Read More »