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19 days, 1,112 tickets: State police crackdown on move-over law violations

What is it going to take to get drivers to slow down and move over for stopped emergency vehicles?

After a rash of crashes last month involving Illinois State Police vehicles stopped along state highways - including six in a three-day span - law enforcement is saying education is not enough.

That was the thinking behind a statewide enforcement campaign Feb. 17 through March 7, in which police targeted drivers who failed to obey Scott's Law, also called the Move Over Law. The law requires drivers to move over a lane when approaching a stopped emergency vehicle with its lights on, or at least slow down if moving over is impossible.

Over those 19 days, police handed out 1,112 tickets for violating the Move Over Law and 384 more for distracted driving, state police Director Brandon Kelly said Thursday.

"Look, this is not about being a nuisance to drivers. This is not about writing tickets or generating revenue or any other cynical perception one might have," Kelly said. "The danger to our officers and to all first responders is real."

Kelly said he had recently visited a trooper who was hit Feb. 15. That trooper is still hospitalized, unconscious with a traumatic brain injury, Kelly said. The trooper's wife told him to pass on a message: "There are long-lasting effects of an accident. It doesn't get cleaned up at the crash site."

Lt. Col. Margaret McGreal, the state police director of patrol, said fines for violating the Move Over Law start at $250 and go up to $10,000.

"First responders, emergency personnel and law-enforcement officers across the state leave their homes every day to go to work and to risk their lives protecting the driving public on our Illinois roadways," she said. "Please do your part to protect those that protect you, by making responsible driving choices."

At least 10 state police squad cars have been hit this year by passing motorists.

State police are lobbying for several changes to the law, including requiring that drivers slow down AND move over, and making it an aggravated offense if distracted driving is involved.

Injured trooper update

The state trooper Kelly referred to is Brian Frank, who was sitting in his squad car on I-55 in the Joliet area when it was hit Feb. 15.

Supporters have started a GoFundMe campaign, Brian Frank Strong, to help his family. There's also a blog, 4thpath.blogspot.com, keeping people apprised of Frank's condition. According to the blog, he's making improvement and is out of a coma but in a state of "unresponsive wakefulness," as of March 13.

Cops sued for breaking deal

After his March 2017 arrest in a drug case, Jason Banks cut a deal with the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group: He'd help the multijurisdictional task force catch some bigger fish, and they'd forget all about prosecuting him.

Banks says he kept his end of the bargain, setting up an undercover drug buy with a heroin dealer 10 days later. But when word got out on the street that Banks may be working with police, it became harder for him to set up more buys.

That's when, Banks now alleges, police reneged on their deal and rearrested him on charges from his original case. This time, he was prosecuted on six counts of delivering a controlled substance, convicted and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

Last year, a state appeals court threw out that conviction, ruling unanimously that police violated Banks' rights by breaking their deal.

Now a free man, Banks is suing the cops who put him behind bars for more than two years. In a lawsuit filed last Friday in U.S. District Court, the 37-year-old Lake County man is seeking damages from the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Grayslake police officer Steve Teschner - who was working for the group when Banks was arrested - and the village of Grayslake.

"This was shoddy police work," Banks' attorney, Kevin W. O'Connor, told us Wednesday. "You don't tell someone you're going to work a deal with them knowing that you're not going to keep that deal. That's playing games with people.

"He went out on a limb and risked his life to try to help police get some really serious criminals."

A representative of the Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group did not return a call seeking comment. Grayslake Assistant Village Manager Brett Kryska referred questions to the enforcement group.

Banks' suit does not specify the damages he's seeking, but O'Connor said the case is about more than money. He said what happened to his client shows that police - even if meaning well - need better training.

"I want some kind of change as a result of this case," he said. "People that just want to throw money at it are sweeping the problem under the rug."

Mess at Metra station

Kids always get told not to play with fire. Perhaps the same should be said for fire extinguishers.

Libertyville police arrested a pair of 20-year-old men this month on criminal damage to property charges stemming from vandalism inside the village's downtown Metra station.

Police say Daniel Cordova of Mundelein and Alex Kadziola of Grayslake discharged a fire extinguisher inside the station Dec. 13, covering the interior of the building, as well as several people inside, in flame retardant.

"The entirety of the building was covered with the powder from the extinguisher," Sgt. Jason Kapusinski told us.

A police officer from a neighboring community recognized the suspects in video surveillance images, and the pair turned themselves in March 4. They're scheduled to appear in court April 4.

• Have a question, tip or comment? Email us at copsandcrime@dailyherald.com.

An Illinois State Police trooper suffered serious injuries Feb. 16 when a car slammed into his patrol car after it had stopped to assist with another crash on I-55 near Route 30 in the Joliet area. Geoff Stellfox/Shaw Media
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