State police urge protesting truckers to obey traffic laws when they are downtown

By Jesse Wright, Staff Writer

(Published April 12, 2019)

Illinois State Police have warned a group of truckers that have planned a “slow roll” protest in downtown Chicago they may face legal consequences if their protest breaks the law.

The protest is scheduled for late morning and afternoon April 12 in front of the Trump Hotel.

The protest is helmed by a trucking rights group known as Black Smoke Matters and the group has been organizing slow roll protests—protests that snarl traffic—in communities across the country.

The group is calling the event a “trucker’s shutdown” and they posted on Twitter a list of their requested changes in federal trucking law. Among other things the group is demanding better education for drivers, work flexibility and repealing the mandated use of electronic logging devices.

However, the Illinois State Police are noting that traffic congestion and backups are a cause of car crashes.

“The Illinois State Police urges all motorists to abide by traffic laws for the safety of all. Traffic backups are a significant contributing cause of traffic crashes, which lead to property damage, personal injury, and possibly death,” ISP District 15 Acting Captain Dominic Chiappini said in a press release. “Though the Illinois State Police respects the rights of citizens to express their opinions in a lawful manner, any planned event designed to intentionally impede normal traffic flow is dangerous to the innocent motoring public. Violators who choose to endanger the public by participating in events that violate Illinois law, could potentially be held liable for traffic crashes occurring as a result of their actions, and will be subject to the enforcement of applicable laws.”