Western Springs Cops Do Fewer Traffic Stops Than Before

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL – Other than a forgery, Western Springs has reported no criminal activity whatsoever in its police blotter for a month.

That means no arrests at all in March, according to the reports.

However, that doesn't mean police activity has ceased.

Patch examined the traffic stop reports for the last couple of decades in Western Springs, La Grange and Burr Ridge.

Police departments must submit the information annually to the state, with the data from 2024 being the latest.

That year, Western Springs officers conducted 1,694 traffic stops, working out to nearly five a day.

That total number of stops is higher than 2023, but the third lowest since 2004.

Of 2024's stops, 27 percent of drivers were given tickets. That is low when compared to the numbers from 2004 to 2014, when the police typically issued tickets to at least 40 percent of drivers – in some years, over 60 percent.

In 2015, Illinois enacted a law banning police departments from enforcing citation and arrest quotas, although most agencies said they maintained no such practices.

Of the three local police departments, Burr Ridge has been the most aggressive and consistent over the past two decades.

It has typically conducted more stops than both Western Springs and La Grange, even though its population is smaller.

Burr Ridge usually tickets about a third of the drivers it stops.

In La Grange, officers conducted 2,925 traffic stops in 2024, a 50 percent increase from a year earlier. They cited drivers in 21 percent of the cases.

That was a year after a village trustee, Lou Gale, encouraged the police chief to become more aggressive with traffic enforcement.

"Chief, light these people up. Write some tickets," Gale said. "I want to put that on the record. I don't know whether we have a reputation as a place that writes too many tickets. I wouldn't mind that for a while if we have pedestrian safety issues."

Before 2015, La Grange officers often ticketed more than 40 percent of drivers during stops.

Check out the number of traffic stops and the percentages that resulted in tickets:

Western Springs
2024: 1,694/27%
2023: 1,385/21%
2022: 2,214/6%
2021: 2,507/7%
2020: 2,563/21%
2019: Unavailable statewide
2018: 2,731/22%
2017: 2,781/22%
2016: 1,623/28%
2015: 2,284/33%
2014: 2,651/45%
2013: 2,901/41%
2012: 2,704/44%
2011: 3,055/49%
2010: 2,369/40%
2009: 2,248/48%
2008: 3,035/59%
2007: 2,943/64%
2006: 2,904/67%
2005: 1,900/50%
2004: 2,293/46%

La Grange
2024: 2,925/21%
2023: 1,963/23%
2022: No report
2021: No report
2020: 2,340/18%
2019: Unavailable statewide
2018: 2,283/30%
2017: 2,970/34%
2016: 2,837/29%
2015: 2,910/32%
2014: 3,294/35%
2013: 3,346/46%
2012: 3,024/42%
2011: 6,061/35%
2010: 8,001/42%
2009: 6,788/41%
2008: 3,822/57%
2007: 3,117/62%
2006: 3,159/63%
2005: 2,493/69%
2004: 3,492/66%

Burr Ridge
2024: 3,841/33%
2023: 3,498/39%
2022: 3,300/35%
2021: 2,411/33%
2020: 3,958/32%
2019: Unavailable statewide
2018: 3,843/31%
2017: 4,248/29%
2016: 4,635/29%
2015: 4,820/34%
2014: 4,546/38%
2013: 4,341/35%
2012: 4,401/32%
2011: 4,853/28%
2010: 4,119/36%
2009: 5,788/34%
2008: 4,761/38%
2007: 3,508/39%
2006: 3,483/46%
2005: 3,457/46%
2004: 3,549/55%

Source: Illinois Department of Transportation