North Cook News

Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Westmont) says Democrats are putting forward legislation similar to a bill she proposed last year. 

Mazzochi's proposal to add more cameras to expressways where shootings have occurred was stymied because she said Gov. Pritzker, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), and Rep. Justin Slaughter (D-Chicago) told her it wasn't feasible. However, her legislation had a more limited scope than the bill Democrats are currently trying to advance.

"Now, I can live with 'better late than never,' because a good idea is a good idea, and I think we should do what we need to do to get things passed and keep people safe," Mazzochi said from the House floor. "But unfortunately, just as we've seen with Gov. Pritzker and the Capital fund, where we were supposed to get a whole host of new roads that haven't materialized, and just because Gov. Pritzker and IDOT have the legislative authority to do something, doesn't mean they are ready, willing, or able to implement it."

Mazzochi said the bill is politically driven.

"So let's be realistic. This legislation is only moving because Gov. Pritzker and the majority party want a sound byte to feed you about how they're going to keep you safe," she said. "But I have no trust whatsoever that Gov. Pritzker is actually going to do the work to implement this bill."

In 2021, there were 310 shootings that took place on Illinois expressways, compared to 147 in 2020 and 51 in 2019, NBC 5 reported. Those cases often go unsolved because it can be difficult to find witnesses, and the crime scenes could span several hundred feet.

HB 1103 would amend the Expressway Camera Act, adding cameras to highways in more than 20 Illinois counties. The images from these cameras could be used to investigate other crimes, as well as to monitor "highway safety and incident management." The legislation would also offer $100 to anyone who captures video of a crime on their own residential security cameras, which can then be used to "contribute to a criminal conviction."

The legislation Mazzochi proposed last year, HB 808, would have added more cameras to expressways within 5 miles of Cook County, as well as within 5 miles of places where highway shootings have previously taken place.