Local Expressway Shootings At Crisis Level With 59 So Far This Year; Man Suffered Life-Threatening Injuries In I-57 Shooting On Thursday
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There has been yet another shooting on Interstate 57.
The latest shooting happened at 11:06 a.m. on northbound I-57 at Halsted Street, according to Illinois State Police.
Troopers said they found a victim inside his car with life-threatening injuries, but did not immediately provide further details. The driver's side door of the car was left riddled with bullet holes.
All northbound lanes on I-57 were closed for hours, but they have since reopened. Meanwhile, if it feels like we're seeing and hearing about more and more expressway shootings in the Chicago area lately, then your hunch is right.
As CBS 2's Jermont Terry reported Thursday night, the stretch of I-57 in Cook County is leading the way.
The year 2021 is shaping out to be dangerous for drivers around Chicago. In the first four months, Illinois State Police reported 59 expressway shootings.
Consider this – there were only 22 expressway shootings in the same time period last year.
Yet 2020 ended with 128 people shot while riding in a vehicle – a 40 percent jump from 2019, when there were only 52 shootings the whole year.
It was also 2019 when Tamara Clayton was killed while riding along I-57 near 167th Street. Clayton's family has been vocal demanding answers, and even taking their plea to billboards looking for the gunmen.
The family supports the $12.5 million efforts to get cameras and software installed to record – not just watch – the expressways. The CBS 2 Morning Insiders have reported extensively on attempts to get the project moving.
It is already two years behind.
Clayton's family said they are saddened by the additional shootings – like the one on I-57 on Thursday morning. This latest incident marked the sixth time someone has been shot this year on I-57.
In 2020, 25 people were injured along I-57, stretching into the south suburbs. In 2019, there were 14.
But CBS 2 knows the Illinois State Police do not include incidents happening on entrance and exit ramps in these data – so those numbers are actually even higher.
Clayton's family said people must remember these are not just numbers, but individuals – and multiple families impacted by gun violence while simply driving.
As for the cameras with recording capabilities, we are told there are fewer than 30 percent of them operating along local expressways. Installation is under way, but it is a slow process.
