Tom Warne Report, 18 May 2013
The head of transportation in Illinois is trying to keep speeds down in the state, as a bill making its way through the General Assembly would raise speeds from 65 to 70 mph through most interstate highways and tollways in the state 65 to 70 mph.
Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Anne Schneider is doing her best to stop lawmakers from approving the faster speed limit.
“The higher the speed limit, the more likely you are to be in a crash,” she said. “And if you’re in a crash, the more likely you are to be killed.”
Schneider said she’ll continue pushing lawmakers to reject the proposal.
“We just want to make our roads as safe as possible. We don’t want to see our fatality rates go up, and so we think it’s important enough that we have worked against raising the speed limit to 70 miles per hour,” she said.
Eight counties would have the ability to opt out of the increased speed limit.