South Cook News

On May 1, Sen. John Curran shared a video on Facebook in which he discussed legislation to reclassify the crime of fleeing and eluding police from a Class 1 Felony to a Class 4 Felony. He expressed his commitment to collaborating with law enforcement partners to bring attention to this issue.

"Today I was joined by State Senator Seth Lewis Lemont Chief of Police and President of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police Marc Maton, and Naperville Police Department Chief of Police Jason Arres to discuss my legislation to increase the penalty for fleeing and eluding police from a Class 1 Misdemeanor to a Class 4 Felony to protect our communities," said F Curran, State Senator 41st District, according to Facebook. "We as policymakers must make it clear that the public is expected and should be held to account when they do not comply. I will continue to work with my partners in law enforcement and the General Assembly to help bring more light to this very important initiative."

"We want to be serious and change reckless criminal behavior. Increasing the penalties on fleeing and looting is the best first step we can take. And the next tragedy that occurs, we’re going to wish we had," said Curran in the video posted on Facebook.

Screenshot of Sen. John Curran's May 1 Facebook post | Sen. John Curran Facebook page

Curran was referring to Senate Bill 1807, which he filed on Feb. 9, 2023. The proposed bill seeks to amend the Illinois vehicle code such that fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer would be considered a Class 4 Felony rather than a Class A misdemeanor; a second violation would be classified as a Class 2 felony and the third violation would escalate to a Class 3 felony. The bill is intended to take effect immediately upon passing.

According to WGIL, under Illinois law, a Class 4 felony conviction could result in a prison sentence ranging from one to three years; for a class 3 felony - the proposed penalty for committing this offense thrice - could lead to five years imprisonment.

"In Illinois, we continue to keep it at a misdemeanor level. It’s not working. If it was working, we would not see this increase in situations where people are recklessly fleeing from the police. It is really raising the consequence and one of the most important paths forward to curbing this behavior that is a growing epidemic all throughout the suburbs and metros areas throughout this state," Curran said in his interview with WGIL.