City council considers lowering Chicago speed limit

cars — In this May 15, 2008, file photo, motorists sit in Chicago traffic.

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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons

Would lowering the speed limit make Chicago’s streets safer?

The same change in New York City saw a decrease in pedestrian deaths. But a similar 2021 change in Chicago fines showed local drivers may be slow to change their ways.

In this May 15, 2008, file photo, motorists sit in Chicago traffic.

Charles Rex Arbogast

By Jules Yaeger

There were 148 traffic deaths in Chicago in 2023. In the same year, there were more than two million speeding violations caught on camera alone.

In May, a Chicago City Council committee heard arguments in favor of reducing the citywide speed limit from 30 miles per hour to 25. How much could that make driving safer, if at all?

Reset digs into what the data shows.

GUEST: Alden Loury, WBEZ data projects senior editor