La Grange Officials Fed Up With Speeding

LA GRANGE, IL – In the spring, La Grange Trustee Lou Gale encouraged local officers to write traffic tickets and "light these people up."

He softened his language at Monday's Village Board meeting, but his meaning stayed the same.

Gale addressed his comments to the new police chief, Timothy Griffin.

"I did previously talk about police lighting up people. I think I'll rephrase that in a different way and just say that you'll never get a complaint from me about there being too many tickets," Gale said.

He also said if someone complains to him about a ticket, he would probably respond by saying the person shouldn't have been speeding or committing some other traffic violation.

Trustee Beth Augustine suggested the village consider increasing fines as a way to get people to think twice before speeding.

And Trustee Glenn Thompson said speeding has picked up since school recently started. He said he has seen some "very reckless drivers."

He said he likes to drive on Brainard Avenue and go the speed limit of 30 mph "to make the driver behind me mad."

"I'll never complain about a driver getting a speeding ticket in town," Thompson said. "You got it. You earned it."

Public records show the La Grange Police Department's traffic stops have plunged over the last decade.