Truckers cited for impeding traffic

Three truck drivers are accused of impeding traffic on the Stevenson expressway -- apparently as part of a protest of high fuel prices by truckers nationwide.

An Illinois State Police spokesman said the trucks blocked the three lanes on I-55 near the Dan Ryan ramp by driving three abreast and slowing down. Master Sergeant Luis Gutierrez said the drivers were ticketed for impeding traffic.

Other truckers were staying home or pulling into truck stops for the day in protest.

Elgin trucker Nathan Drafall said he was staying home.

Drafall said a gallon of diesel fuel costs around $4, so filling up his truck costs him $1,000. He said that means he makes little to no money on some deliveries.

He hopes the government intervenes to force prices down.

Most of the strike actions in the Chicago area seemed limited to long-distance, overland drivers, according to Chris Dahm, owner of Dahm Trucking Inc. in Woodstock.

"There has been talk about it on the CBs but it seems limited to the over-the-roaders," said Dahm, whose firm uses 33 owner-operator trucks. "I haven't heard of anyone who drives regionally doing anything."

Dahm, who is on an advisory board of Springfield-based Mid-West Truckers Association, said his group is channeling its efforts to get a gasoline tax cap.

As the price of diesel skyrockets, taxes based on percentages boost the total price at the pump. A cap, he said, would limit the sales tax to a fixed amount of money per gallon, rather than a percentage of a rising price.