Chicago City Wire

A civilian oversight commission is proposing to restrict when Chicago police officers can conduct traffic stops, potentially ending enforcement of several minor vehicle code violations.

The Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability (CCPSA) has unveiled a proposal that would prohibit police from stopping drivers for violations such as license plates expired for less than one year, improperly displayed or missing front plates, rear plate lighting issues, or a single non-functioning headlight or brake light during daylight hours.

The proposals are currently in a public comment period.

Jason Johnson | LELDF

Only one other major U.S. city — Los Angeles — has a civilian police oversight body with comparable authority, according to Jason Johnson, president of the Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund (LELDF).

“It’s very rare,” Johnson told Chicago City Wire. “It’s a major policy decision and such things are normally reserved for those who are accountable to voters, which Commission members are not.”

In an email, Johnson added: “Can Chicago’s ‘CCPSA’ preclude officers’ authority to (and actually required to pursuant to their oath) enforce the state’s laws, by fiat? In other words, when a CPD officer takes an oath to faithfully uphold the law, can some administrative body on its own say, in effect, ‘well, actually not all the laws, only the ones we like.’”

CWB Chicago reported that some members of the commission have suggested going further, including eliminating stops for failure to wear seat belts or signal lane changes.

“Why? Because they believe traffic stops are disproportionately used against Black and Brown drivers, often as a pretext to look for guns or other contraband,” the report stated.

The CCPSA was created by the Chicago City Council in 2021. It has authority to set police department policy and to select or remove the police superintendent, members of the Chicago Police Board, and the chief administrator of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA), which investigates allegations of police misconduct.

According to a recent report by WTTW, “more than 44% of all drivers stopped by police officers in 2024 were Black, and nearly 35% of drivers pulled over by Chicago police officers were Latino. By comparison, just 14.8% of drivers stopped by Chicago police were White,” citing a paper published by a coalition of groups advocating for changes to traffic stop practices.