Black, Hispanic Drivers Get 81% of Chicago Traffic Tickets

The disparities appear in every police district across the city, but reach striking levels in some predominantly white neighborhoods. In the Near North Side’s 18th District — covering Lincoln Park, Gold Coast and Streeterville — Black and Hispanic drivers received over 70 percent of tickets despite representing less than 15 percent of the area’s population.

Only 22 percent of tickets in that district went to white drivers, though they make up 70 percent of the district’s residents. Black drivers received 44 percent of tickets there while representing just 6 percent of the population — a rate six times higher than expected.

“Pretextual traffic stops are the new stop-and-frisk,” said Amy Thompson, staff counsel at Impact for Equity and a researcher on the study. Police “are not only concentrating traffic stops in communities of color, but also for drivers of color driving throughout the city.”

The analysis comes as the Chicago Police Department negotiates new policies around pretextual traffic stops, where officers pull drivers over for minor violations while searching for evidence of more serious crimes. Reform advocates argue the practice leads to racial profiling.

The Police Department does not track when traffic stops are made with additional suspicions in mind and only recently acknowledged that officers make pretextual stops.

“The Chicago Police Department has been working to ensure traffic stops are used effectively for public safety and in accordance with the law,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

The two districts issuing the most tickets serve predominantly Black neighborhoods on the South and West sides. The Wentworth District, covering parts of Hyde Park, Englewood and Woodlawn, handed out nearly 8,000 tickets. The Harrison District, including portions of Garfield Park and North Lawndale, issued over 7,200.

But the pattern holds even in areas with few stops. Downtown’s Central District issued just 549 tickets during the study period, yet 84 percent went to Black and Hispanic drivers who make up 26.5 percent of the area’s population.

On the Northwest Side, disparities were equally stark. The Jefferson Park District ticketed Black drivers at six times their population share. In the Shakespeare District, covering parts of Humboldt Park and Logan Square, Black drivers received tickets at five times their population rate.

Hispanic drivers faced over-ticketing in all but two police districts. The starkest disparity occurred in the Grand Crossing District on the South Side, where Hispanic drivers received 21 percent of tickets while representing about 3 percent of the population — a rate 6.5 times higher than expected.

In the Town Hall District, which includes Wrigleyville, Hispanic drivers were ticketed over three times their population share.

The most common violation during the study period was lacking registration, followed by speeding and failing to stop at stop signs.

The Civilian Office of Police Accountability previously investigated racial disparities in the 18th District and found they “may be indicative of implicit bias and/or racial profiling.” The agency recommended suspending a sergeant and officer involved in questionable stops.

White drivers were under-ticketed citywide at a rate of about 0.68 of what would be expected based on population. They received the most tickets in zero of the city’s 22 police districts.

Black drivers citywide were ticketed about 2.5 times more than expected based on population size, while Hispanic drivers were ticketed almost twice their expected rate.

The analysis adds to ongoing debates about police reform as the department operates under a federal consent decree requiring changes to practices that disproportionately affect communities of color.