Illinois

Statewide

Reporting from in and around Illinois.Listen to Statewide on WNIJ Saturdays 6-7 a.m. and Sundays 6-7 p.m.

Statewide: Racial disparities in police traffic stops

NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS | By Sean Crawford

Published October 5, 2023 at 3:30 PM CDT

Twenty years after Illinois began requiring police departments track the race of drivers in traffic stops, the data shows the effort to reduce racial disparities has failed to live up to its promise.

WBEZ and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity compiled and analyzed two decade’s worth of traffic stop data collected under the law – 42.5 million records from more than 1,000 jurisdictions across Illinois – interviewed experts and reviewed public records.

Hear more about the findings.

Also:

* A key member of Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's administration talks about efforts to deal with the influx of migrants in that city.

* A prominent author and journalist, Juan Gonzalez, discusses how U.S. foreign policy has contributed to the migrant crisis.

* Michael Liptrot tells us how racial disparities in traffic stops in Illinois have gotten worse since a law to track data was enacted.

* We also learn how some Black drivers are fighting racial profiling.

* Linda Kenyon tells us how Illinois Republicans voted on the question of removing U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

* JuanPablo Ramirez-Franco reports on a study of oak trees and how they respond to different climates and how that could affect forests of the future.

* Remember the Three's Company sitcom character Helen Roper? Some are so taken with the funny and fashionable landlady from the show that they hold parties in her honor. We'll visit one.

* Harvest Public Media's Elizabeth Rembert discusses the Farm Bill and a program called Title One.

* Stress runs high in agriculture, but women are often forgotten in the conversation about farmer mental health. Melissa Ellin takes a closer look.