Illinois State Police: 225 stolen vehicles were recovered in recent anti-theft campaign

The Illinois State Police reported this week that officials recovered 225 stolen vehicles during a campaign to combat vehicle hijacking and theft that ran from April to June.

Agency officials said officers made six stolen-vehicle arrests and seized 15 firearms as a result of recovering the vehicles. This came out of a total of 48 missions related to recovering stolen or hijacked vehicles, according to a news release.

The agency used K-9 units 27 times and air operations 48 times, according to the release. There were 1,215 forensic lab assignments related to stolen or hijacked vehicles.

Highlights of the recovery effort include a stolen Land Rover found April 26 during an attempted traffic stop on southbound Interstate 94 near 95th Street in Chicago, according to the release. The driver finally parked around 83rd Street, and the Illinois State Police arrested both people in the vehicle.

On May 3, police found a stolen Kia in the 400 block of Sauget Avenue in Cahokia. The vehicle’s driver fled, and one of the two occupants of the vehicle was arrested, according to the release.

On June 1, police found a stolen Jeep on Interstate 94 at 43rd Street in Chicago parked near Haddon and Kostner, and five people were arrested, according to the release.

Police said they used grant funding from the Illinois Secretary of State Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention and Insurance Verification Council for enforcement.

Illinois State Police were awarded a $10 million grant for the first fiscal year of the program, and then $677,000 in June 2024 and an additional $637,500 in July 2025.