‘Education and enforcement’: Why you can expect to see more police on Route 59 today

If you can’t drive 55, you probably want to stay off 59 today.

Police departments across the suburbs — from Wauconda up north to Naperville down south and nearly everywhere in between — are teaming up for a regional traffic safety initiative all day Friday along the Route 59 corridor.

That means more officers out on patrol looking for speeders, texters, seat belt skippers and other traffic scofflaws.

“Route 59 is one of the main roads through Naperville and, I imagine, a lot of the communities taking part,” Naperville police Sgt. Derek Zook. “We see a lot of traffic volume along the road, and with all that volume we see a large amount of crashes.”

The same goes in South Barrington, where officers will be performing additional patrols near the busy intersection at Higgins Road (Route 72), where the Arboretum of South Barrington and Poplar Prairie Stone Crossing shopping centers sit.

“Route 59 and Higgins is always one of our top crash locations,” Chief Michael Garrison told us.

Other departments taking part include Streamwood, Shorewood, Plainfield, West Chicago and Warrenville and the Cook County sheriff’s office.

In Naperville, the initiative will see 10 officers patrolling the highway from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Zook said.

“We’re just out there to help people slow down and hopefully avoid crashes,” he said. “Education and enforcement go hand in hand.”

One more thing

If you haven’t guessed it already, the date for the campaign is no coincidence. Today is ninth day of the fifth month, i.e. 5/9.

Route 59 then roofs

Today, it’s Route 59. Next week, it’s roofs.

The annual “Cop on a Rooftop” fundraiser for Special Olympics Illinois is set for 5 a.m. to noon Friday, May 16, at more than 380 Dunkin’ locations across the state.

Here’s how it works: Police officers will station on the roofs of their local Dunkin’, where they’ll solicit donations to support the more than 21,000 athletes who participate in Special Olympics programs in the state. Donate $10 or more and you’ll get a coupon for a free coffee, and a Law Enforcement Torch Run travel mug, while supplies last. Some locations also will be selling raffle tickets and Special Olympics merch.

Since the fundraiser began 21 years ago, Cop on a Rooftop has raised more than $10 million to support Special Olympians.

To find a participating Dunkin’ near you, visit coponarooftop.com.

Hail to the chief

Congrats to Lincolnshire Police Chief Joe Leonas, who’s been named the new president of the Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police.

Leonas has been Lincolnshire’s top cop since 2016. Before that, he spent 26 years with the Bartlett Police Department, where he reached the rank of deputy chief.

He succeeds Lemont Chief Marc Maton as ILACP president. The association describes itself as Illinois' “voice of professional law enforcement” and represents more than 1,400 members in some 450 law enforcement agencies.

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