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“Even though it is in the driver handbook, most people don’t pay
attention to it,” Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, told The Center
Square. “They don’t even realize that it is against the law. The
police know it is a violation. And remember, the police are
responsible for pulling people over because the law says that
they have to. It makes no sense.”
Ford’s bill, House Bill 2389, which would no longer require law
enforcement to stop drivers with hanging objects on the rearview
mirror, passed the Illinois House with bipartisan support on
March 24.
In Minnesota, a police officer killed Chicagoan Daunte Wright
two years ago when she stopped him for having an air freshener
tag hanging from his rearview mirror. Wright got irate about the
stop. The officer reached for her taser gun to subdue him. She
grabbed her pistol instead, and Wright was killed.
“If the bill passes the Senate, as we expect, and the governor
signs it into law, that is one less responsibility that law
enforcement will have to have,” Ford said.
The measure passed the Senate earlier this month and can now be
sent to the governor.
When Ford asked Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias to
support his effort to get the law off the books, Giannoulias did
not hesitate.
“Pulling someone over for merely having an air freshener
attached to the rearview mirror is not only archaic, it’s
ridiculous,” Giannoulias said in a statement. “Amending the law
by prohibiting traffic stops that encourage discriminatory
practices will ultimately make our streets safer for both
motorists and police officers.”
Ford said it is a safety issue, both for the public and for law
enforcement.
“We need to minimize how often police have to have contact with
drivers for the safety of both,” Ford said. “A simple traffic
stop for this violation can lead to a person being killed by
police for a number of reasons. Imagine a police officer pulling
someone over for an air freshener or a rosary when there is a
killer on the loose. It makes no sense.”
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