WEST LOOP — The State Police are stepping up overnight patrols and traffic stops on Chicago expressways in the wake of a rash of shootings that authorities are linking to the city's gang problems.
"From what we've seen, there's a lot of spillover from the gang violence the city overall has been seeing lately," State Police Capt. David Byrd said. "Offenders have been increasingly seeing highways as an opportunity to go after rival gang members."
With 26 shootings on Chicago expressways already this year, the State Police said Wednesday it will shift manpower to "increase visibility" and presence on expressways during periods when shootings are most common, Maj. Luis Gutierrez said.
Gutierrez said the agency would increase patrol cars and traffic stops between midnight and 5 a.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.
"We want to focus on those windows that our data shows deserve the most attention," he said
Monday's shooting on the outbound Kennedy Expressway was the 26th highway shooting of 2015, on pace to double 2014's total of 18, State Police Capt. David Byrd said. While fewer than half of these shootings have injured people, they've all led to major traffic pileups while police investigate them.
In addition to beefing up presence during set windows of time, Byrd said, police are focused on targeting the stretches of highway where shootings are most common. Most notable, he said, are the Eisenhower Expressway between Western and Central Avenues, and the Dan Ryan Expressway between 35th and 95th Streets.
"It's all about visibility," Byrd said. "The more people are seeing patrol cars, seeing those lights go up, the more they'll be thinking about the real consequences of being arrested."
Highway drivers can help police efforts, Byrd said, by reporting suspicious-looking cars to 911 or *999. But, he added, no one should "endanger" themselves by following them.
"Above all, the message we want to get to commuters and everyone else is that it's safe to drive on the expressways," Gutierrez said.
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