A group working toward more equitable traffic safety has called for the Chicago Police Department to stop pretextual traffic stops, which officials say encourage over-policing and racial profiling. 

The Free2Move Coalition submitted over 2,400 signatures to the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability July 25, asking for a hearing to eliminate pretextual traffic stops on the police force. The CCPSA then scheduled the hearing for Aug. 27. 

Free2Move officials said there’s a lack of evidence that pretextual stops — often made under the pretext of minor traffic violations with the purpose to look for evidence of a non-traffic-related crime — are an efficient policing strategy. 

“Everyone here today, and those who were able to sign the petition to get here, collectively, are asking the CCPSA to listen to the voices,” said Biliah Mandela of Community Renewal Society at the July 25 CCPSA meeting. “We are all here because pretextual stops are not working and are harmful to the Black and brown community.” 

According to a report by Free2Move and Impact For Equity, from 2015 to 2023, there was a nearly 700% increase in traffic stops around the city, totaling over 530,000 stops. That’s more than 1,000 stops a day and the second-highest number of traffic stops since 2004.

But Free2Move suggests that few of these half-a-million traffic stops impact roadway or public safety. 

Of last year’s traffic stops in Chicago, less than 1% produced contraband, less than 3% resulted in arrest and under 4% led to a citation, according to the report.

And last year, as in previous years, police disproportionately pulled over people of color.

In 2023, over 51% of drivers who police pulled over were Black, though Black people comprise about 30% of Chicago’s population. Approximately 30% were Latino, which make up about the same percentage of the city’s residents. More than 13% of traffic stops were for white drivers, which account for over 32% of the city’s population. 

Pretextual traffic stops also impact Chicago’s West Side more than any other neighborhood.

Chicago’s 11th Police District, which covers Garfield Park and Humboldt Park, experienced the most traffic stops last year of any district — over 56,000. The second highest number, over 47,000, came from the 10th district, whose jurisdiction is Garfield Park and Lawndale. The next highest number was over 32,000 in the 7th District on Chicago’s South Side.

There are 22 district councils for each police district, each with three elected councilors. In addition to the 2,400 signatures, the Free2Move Coalition also got 36 district councilors to support its policy platform. It’s the first time ever that a majority of the councilors have endorsed a policy proposal. 

Leonardo Quintero, district councilor for the 12th District, said there are “stories that need to be shared, incidents that have been swept under the rug for years, and the people deserve the opportunity to be heard, believed and, most importantly, to be included in creating this language” for a new traffic stop policy.

Problems with police accountability 

Minor traffic violations,like expired registrations or unlit headlights, often don’t affect other drivers as much as driving infractions, like speeding or running a red light. 

Free2Move officials argue that police resources could be used to respond to more dangerous crimes and that pretextual traffic stops are degrading the police’s relationship with the people who it’s supposed to protect. 

“No community wants or deserves tactical units or policing strategies that include pretextual stops,” said Jackie Baldwin, director of antiracism and equity at theJewish Council on Urban Affairs. 

The call to end pretextual traffic stops comes at a time when CCPSA is evaluating its own services.

In July, CCPSA President Anthony Driver announced there have been recent complaints about the Civilian Office of Police Accountability, which CCPSA oversees. 

“The information we have received concerns the quality and integrity of COPA’s investigations, the quality and integrity of COPA’s disciplinary recommendations and retaliation against COPA employees who have raised concerns about COPA’s investigations and recommendations,” Driver said at a special meeting July 15. 

The CCPSA then unanimously voted to forward the complaints to the Office of Inspector General and recommended that it investigate the claims. The office usually doesn’t disclose whether it is looking into agencies or people, releasing reports only once it completes investigations. 

While the Office of Inspector General may or may not scrutinize COPA, CCPSA is taking claims against pretextual traffic stops seriously. 

If CCPSA determines at the Aug. 27 hearing that pretextual traffic stops should be eliminated, Free2Move demands a timeline for the Chicago Police Department to implement a new traffic stop policy by March. 

“Twenty years ago, I was with Amnesty International. We did town hearings about racial profiling, and we called out pretextual traffic stops as an issue here in Chicago. It’s 20 years later, and we’re still fighting the same issue,” said W. Robert Schultz III, a campaign organizer at the Active Transportation Alliance. “I don’t want to wait another 20 years to solve this problem.”