Local Expressway Shootings At Crisis Level With 59 So Far This Year; Man Suffered Life-Threatening Injuries In I-57 Shooting On Thursday
CBS Chicago 2 hrs ago Syndicated Local – CBS Chicago
CHICAGO (CBS) There has been yet another shooting on Interstate 57.
The latest shooting happened at 11:06 a.m. on northbound I-57 at Halsted Street, according to Illinois State Police.
Troopers said they found a victim inside his car with life-threatening injuries, but did not immediately provide further details. The driver’s side door of the car was left riddled with bullet holes.
All northbound lanes on I-57 were closed for hours, but they have since reopened. Meanwhile, if it feels like we’re seeing and hearing about more and more expressway shootings in the Chicago area lately, then your hunch is right.
Last year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Tamara Clayton Expressway Camera Act, which required the state to install new cameras on expressways. Current expressway cameras are low-definition and don’t record video. The act was named for a postal worker who was shot and killed on her way to work on Interstate 57 in 2019.
“No one should feel afraid for their life or safety on Illinois expressways,” Pritzker said in a statement. “Tamara Clayton’s tragic death must not be forgotten, and we must do everything we can to prevent more expressway shootings.”
A sponsor of the bill, state Rep. Thaddeus Jones, D-Calumet City, said the cameras will not necessarily stop the shootings on expressway but “will be used as a tool to catch those people who are using our expressways as their own personal shooting range.”
KELLI SMITH
Chicago Tribune
CHICAGO â Joe Starnes canât hold a cup of coffee in his right hand. He canât hold much of anything.
Itâs been five months since Starnesâ right arm was damaged when someone pulled up next to him late one summer night and fired about 14 bullets into his SUV as he was driving home on the Dan Ryan Expressway.
âWhen you get shot, your whole life is changed,â Starnes said. âEverything is different.â
The shooting was one of 128 that happened on Chicago-area expressways in 2020 â an unprecedented spike that left a trail of grieving loved ones and traumatized victims like Starnes who now wonder what is being done about the disturbing trend.