Expressway Shootings Targeted By Pritzker, Illinois State Police

CHICAGO — Twenty people have been arrested or charged with violent crimes in connection with Chicago-area expressway shooting incidents as Gov. J.B. Pritzker has announced he is cracking down on violence and has pledged to give the Illinois State Police and other agencies more tools to cut down on future shootings.

The Illinois State Police announced the charges on Monday and said that suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the shootings. Suspects have been charged with first-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, attempted murder, and other crimes, state police officials said.

As Pritzker and State Police Director Brendan Kelly were announcing the increased surveillance on local expressways on Monday, a shooting took place on the Dan Ryan, according to reports. The shooting involved a person sustaining non-life-threatening injuries in a shooting that took place at Canalport Avenue, police said.

“Drivers have had bullets come through their windshields, maiming or killing someone who’s just trying to get from point A to point B,” Pritzker told reporters at a news conference on Monday. “It can be anyone — an innocent child in the back seat, a friend you’re driving home.

“Anyone even thinking of committing violent crimes on our expressways ought to be on notice that they are more likely today than ever before to get caught. We will hold nothing back to keep the public safe.”

Monday’s announcement came after the Illinois State Police reported 273 expressway shootings in 2021. State Police officials recently released data on an interactive map that tracks expressway shootings back to 2019. Kelly said Monday that 24 homicides took place on the state’s expressways in 2021.

Pritzker has announced he will deploy more state troopers on local expressways and that more state police helicopters will monitor expressway activity from the air. Pritzker said that the charges against the 20 people are proof that the extra measures by police are working as officials look to crack down on "heinous shootings that spill over from neighborhoods and onto the expressway," the governor said in a news release on Monday.

Kelly said in a news release that 99 license plate readers were recently installed on the Dan Ryan and said that police officials are working with the Illinois Department of Transportation to install another 200 license plate readers within the next year.

On Monday, police announced the following arrests:

Darnay Washington, 31, Chicago was recently arrested and charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and aggravated vehicular hijacking in connection with an expressway shooting that took place on Jan. 30, 2021. Police said that the incident took place on I-90 at the Division Street exit.

Police said that a person is in custody in connection on unrelated charges but is believed to be involved in a fatal shooting that took place on Dec. 13, 2021. Involuntary manslaughter charges are pending in the case, police said.

Darrell D. Wardington, 19, Hammond, Ind., was charged with attempted murder in connection with a shooting that took place in Dec. 2021, on I-94 at 159th Street, police said. With the assistance of the FBI Violent Crimes Fugitive Task Force, Wardington was taken into custody in Indiana and was subsequently extradited to Illinois. Wardington was being held at Cook County Jail with a bond of $250,000.

Antoine Scott, 31, Chicago, was charged with first-degree murder. Scott was already in custody on unrelated charges and is being held on no bond, police said. He is being charged with murder in connection with a shooting that took place on I-57 northbound at 159th Street.

In addition to these four arrests, state police officials also announced that several more people had been charged with attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated fleeing and eluding and reckless discharge of a firearm.

“As a result of these investigative efforts and collaboration with our law enforcement partners…20 more dangerous individuals will be held accountable for the violence and disruption they have caused on Chicago-area expressways,” Kelly said in a news release.

“The ISP is showing if you engage in criminal activity on the expressways, you will be identified, you will be arrested and you will be charged with the most serious charges under the law.”