CHICAGO (CBS) –This year there have been 224 shootings on our expressways; a number continuing to rise as Illinois State Police race to get their delayed multimillion dollar camera and license reader network up and running.
CBS 2’s Tara Molina has tracked this closely for us for months, and the number of people held accountable for these shootings is low.
We’ve seen the same scene play out 224 times on the expressways around Chicago, more than twice the past two years combined.
20 of the 224 shootings deadly — people hurt in 101 of them. But with only 12 arrested and charged this year out of 224 shootings, what’s it going to take to hold people accountable and make our roads safer?
State Police’s answer has been more patrols, and cameras.
So, where are they?
A spokesperson for Illinois State Police told Molina, so far, about 100 license plate readers have been installed and are operational. But they wouldn’t say where those readers are up and running, or if they’ve helped police track down a shooter yet.
“You know, it’s going to require a multi-prong approach, it’s video cameras are critical.”
We brought the latest to Dr. Joe Schwieterman, an expert in transportation and urban planning.
“What’s discouraging is the apprehension rate is low enough that the deterrence affect isn’t there and I think people kind of know that,” he said.
That’s why he says the camera and license plate reader technology, still being installed, but meant to help track down these shooters, is more important than ever.
State Police say it’s their goal to have another 300 license plate readers installed on Cook County expressways in the next year.