Traffic Stop Resources

• Statements

  • Stop Killing Us – Community Renewal Society

  • Justice for Dexter Reed and All Those Murdered by Police! Fire & Charge the Officers Involved! Demand an End to CPD Death Squads! – Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression

• Recent coverage of Dexter Reed’s killing and the problem of pretextual traffic stops by the Chicago Police Department (CPD)

  • Fatal police shooting of Dexter Reed sparks outcry to reform CPD’s use of traffic stops 4/12/24

• Know Your Rights (KYR) Materials

  • ACLU of Illinois

    • Basic KYR for when you’re stopped by the police

  • Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

    • KYR for law enforcement interactions, which also includes interactions with immigration officers

  • Video of November 2023 KYR presentation on traffic stops by Alexandra Block (ACLU-IL, Director of Criminal Legal System & Policing Project)

• Below you will find analysis of public data showing that the CPD and statewide traffic stops target Black and Latino drivers and don’t improve public safety.

  • April 2024 Report by Impact for Equity and the Free 2 Move Coalition analyzing CPD traffic stop data for 2023 – finding persistent massive racial disparities and only a tiny percentage of stops resulted in contraband recovery

  • September to December 2023 – WBEZ and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity have published a series of articles on racial disparities in traffic stops (CPD and statewide) and the harms of this police practice. All of the articles can be found here.

  • September 2023: Black drivers ‘stay ready,’ navigating low-level traffic stops

  • July 2023 ACLU of Illinois blog post analyzing CPD and Illinois statewide traffic stop data for 2022, titled Black and Latino Motorists in Illinois Continue to Experience Higher Rate of Traffic Stops According to New Data

  • August 2022 ACLU of Illinois blog post written by Josh Levin titled, Racially Disproportionate Traffic Stops Do Note Make Chicago Neighborhoods Safer