The current urban interstate speed limit in Illinois is 55 miles per hour. This limit should be raised to 65 mph to benefit Illinois commuters, travelers and business as well. Currently, the lower speed limit results in more traffic violations, as many Illinois commuters already disregard the posted speed limit. Raising the speed will have little effect on traffic accidents, as weather conditions are the leading cause of these accidents (according to the U.S. Department of Transportation in "An Analysis of Speeding-Related Crashes"). Compared to nearby states, like Wisconsin and Ohio, Illinois has an unnecessarily low speed limit, yet these states have similar fatality statistics to Illinois.
There is currently a bill that was sent to Gov. Pat Quinn after overwhelming approval by both the house and senate, which would raise the max speed to 70 mph on rural interstate highway systems and to 65 on other rural highways, roads and streets. This petition is a call to extend the ability to increase the speed limit on urban road systems as well. We feel that although there are many who would argue that raising the speed limit would create more and deadlier accidents, according to studies done in other states which have increased these limits, this is not the case. Increasing the speed limit does not mean the Illinois driver must increase their speed, but makes it legal to drive at a speed many feel comfortable with currently. As Senator Oberweis stated “It’s bad to have a law on the books that’s so widely ignored.”