(SPRINGFIELD) Illinois police departments had a busy year in 2023, with an increase in traffic stops over the year before. In Illinois Department of Transportation data compiled by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, there was a 12% increase in traffic stops last year from 2022. Police in Illinois conducted another 200,000 additional stops in 2023 compared with 2022, which means there are 500 additional stops happening every single day. The data showed Black and Latino drivers were stopped at higher rates than white drivers in almost all areas of the state. The ACLU also reports the numbers are based on data that every law enforcement agency in the state is supposed to report annually, although about 20% of police agencies failed to submit the required data for 2023.
(SPRINGFIELD) State Senator Chapin Rose has filed a resolution in Springfield to prevent OSHA from enacting the new Emergency Response Rule, which many say would be impractical for volunteer fire and emergency departments throughout Illinois. Not only would the action replace current safety standards for fire departments, but the new rules would pose significant financial challenges that could make volunteer fire departments unfeasible to operate, especially those in rural areas of Illinois, mostly downstate.
(CHAMPAIGN) Looking back at June, it was warmer and drier than normal, according to the Illinois State Water Survey at the University of Illinois in Champaign. Temperatures in June averaged 74.5 degrees statewide, that’s 2.3 degrees above normal and tied for the 17th warmest June on record. Precipitation statewide in June averaged 3.09 inches, which was 1.56 inches below average and the 34th driest June on record. While soil moisture levels declined in June, water surface levels at the end of June were below the full pool or target level at nine (9) of the twenty-one (21) reporting reservoirs. Go to isws.illinois.edu for more.