In an interesting move this week, the Illinois State Police (ISP) have granted public access to an online dashboard map of Illinois Expressway shootings going back as far as 2019.
They say it is “interactive” and allows viewers to get dates, times, and context about the shootings, as well as the number of shootings for the specific roadways. So far this year I-57 tops the list followed closely by I-94/Bishop Ford, the I-94 Dan Ryan and the I-290 Eisenhower, and I-90 Edens.
I looked at it at the very complex internet address for the map, and found the page was nicely done, and chock full of information, to include the locations and times for shootings all across the state, current yearly totals, and even pie charts that break down the percentages of shootings that happen for each day of the week.
When I finished reviewing the page I thought “Well this is very well done” which was followed by “Oh, they must have paid a company to build and produce this page…it doesn’t look like other ISP products.”
Some of the stated reason for posting this site, was the state police believe the information would be of use/concern to truck drivers. I am not sure that will really pan out. First of all, the site is difficult to find. Try typing in https://isp.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/9f74a3ba8bF443f794a868e27289c1e8 one handed while you are motoring along just to find the map.
Second, what truck drivers have the time to look it up and see if the current shootings have been going on near where they will be driving and then- what alternate routes are available to run up and down alongside Chicago? Turns out, according to the map there are shootings all up and down the Illinois Expressways, day and night, from end to end, and most of course, are in the Metro area. Looks an awful lot like Chicago traffic congestion maps we see on TV.
Running the interstate along the south side of Chicago is somewhat akin to Baghdad’s famous Route Irish, and while IED’s are not present in Chi-Raq (yet), drivers take the sensible precaution to just drive fast through the southern portion and headed north to get up by the tall buildings any way! Going south? I-57 has 4 of this month’s shootings. You are not completely safe from random or directed gunfire until down towards Joliet.
Alarmingly, the site shows 13 expressway shootings so far this year, yet there were only 17 such shootings in all of 2020. Is that an information glitch or just a bunch more reported shooting?
As a non-truck driver, I looked at this site and came away with “Holy crap that’s a lot of express way shootings!”
I am glad the state decided to be “timely and transparent” releasing this map, but those numbers do not instill a sense of peace and tranquility to anyone who must drive those roads.
Also, breaking down the shootings into “Just wounded” vs “Killed” really doesn’t make it much better.
One great post I saw said the new map and website would be used to “battle” highway shootings. Not sure how that battling thing works unless it encourages more people to stay off the roads. Might not be what they were looking for. “Drive the roads of Illinois-and here is where you are most likely to get shot!” Catchy hunh?
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