Civil rights groups want consent searches banned

Armed with four years of state data finding minorities are searched more often during traffic stops than whites, civil rights groups are asking the governor to bar state police from making such "consent searches."

An eight-member coalition led by the American Civil Liberties Union made the request Thursday citing data collected by the Illinois Department of Transportation since 2003.

The coalition says data collected for the first time in 2007 shows police statewide conducted consent searches of minorities at 2.5 times the rate of white drivers, but discovered contraband at half the rate of white drivers.

Police conduct consent searches when they ask drivers' permission to search vehicles during traffic stops.

Governor Rod Blagojevich's office and the Illinois State Police say they haven't seen the coalition's request and didn't have an immediate response.