‘Speeding catches up with you’: Illinois police urge drivers to slow down

Illinois law-enforcement and transportation authorities had their annual speeding awareness day this week and urged drivers to slow down on the roads.

State officials held a news conference at the Illinois Tollway headquarters in Downers Grove. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police first launched the speed awareness day campaign in 2016, according to a news release from the organization.

“Technology is advancing rapidly … but today our greatest safety tool is personal responsibility,” Joe Leonas, police chief of Lincolnshire and president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police, said in the release. “Every mile per hour over the limit cuts down the time we have to react and increases the force of impact and raises the odds that someone won’t make it home.”

Speeding accounted for 45% of fatal crashes, 31% of all crashes and 36% of injury crashes in 2023, according to the release.

As of Wednesday, 627 people had lost their lives in fatal crashes in Illinois in 2025, according to data from the Illinois Department of Transportation. It’s down from this time in 2024, when 660 people had died in fatal crashes. The data is provisional and updated as the agency receives crash data, according to the website.

“Today, we are coming to the public with a simple and crucial message: Speeding catches up with you,” Stephane Seck-Birhame, IDOT’s bureau chief of safety programs and engineering, said in the release. “Slow down and look around. It is not a game.”

The summer months, between June and September, see the highest traffic fatalities. About 43% of fatal crashes in Illinois happened between June and September in 2023, according to the release.

Illinois State Police Capt. Patrick Manno said: “Our troopers will be out in full force, not just to issue citations, but to make visible and positive impacts on driving behavior. Because this isn’t about punishment, it’s about prevention.”

Troopers have issued more than 36,000 speeding citations in 2025, and over 66,000 were issued statewide in 2024, according to the release.

Officials have issued safety reminders and warnings following spates of fatal crashes this summer.

Earlier in July, state police issued a reminder to the public about motorcycle safety after four motorcycle fatalities in a week.

In McHenry County, three people died in crashes within about a 14-hour time frame at the end of June.

After the spate of crashes, Sheriff Robb Tadelman released a statement imploring motorists to slow down, buckle up, put the phone down, stay fully alert when driving and report reckless drivers.