City Council approves crackdown on street racing; Lightfoot critic accuses mayor of ignoring problem

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Aldermen on Wednesday approved an effort to crack down on illegal street racing and car stunts, a dangerous thrill that seems to be growing every weekend in Chicago, as one of Mayor Lori Lightfoot's harshest critics accused her office and the Chicago Police Department of essentially turning a blind eye to the problem until now.

As CBS 2's Tara Molina reported earlier this week, it's a problem that leaves a mess behind. So many concentric rings of tire tracks tarnished the intersection of Clinton and Monroe streets in the West Loop after car enthusiasts used the middle of that intersection to spin around doing donuts this past weekend, with a large crowd cheering them on.

The City Council voted unanimously to approve an ordinance that could provide a tool for police fighting such activities, by allowing police to impound cars involved in illegal street racing and car stunts known as "drifting," even if the owner is not there when the car is found.

Downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who sponsored the ordinance, said it would allow police to impound such cars days or weeks after such illegal street stunts, if officers are not in a position to do so when they happen.

"The drag racing and drifting issue has really skyrocketed during the pandemic. When most folks were stuck at home, these people were availing themselves of a lot of wide-open right of way and surface parking lots; not just in downtown, but in nearly every neighborhood of the City of Chicago," he said. "We can take a more aggressive tack, and make sure accountability sticks."

Ald. Raymond Lopez (15th), who has announced he is running against Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2023, and has been one of her most vocal critics, said aldermen have tried six other times since 2019 to crack down on street racing, but the Lightfoot administration and Chicago Police Department haven't taken it seriously.

"No one performing these acts, filming these acts, organizing these acts takes this government seriously when it comes to thinking that we are actually trying to do something about it," Lopez said. "We pretend, and look the other way. Our residents are not looking the other way, folks. Our residents can hear the screeching tires every weekend, every other night. They can see it with their own eyes. The policy of telling our residents to not believe their lying eyes, and not listen to their lying ears must come to an end. We must enforce, we must hold accountable, and we must recognize that until there's a will to do that, this will just continue weekend after weekend after weekend."

Without responding to Lopez by name, Lightfoot denied that the city has been turning a blind eye to illegal street racing.

"It's what I call the silly season, and we will continue to hear nonsense coming from some folks. It does a disservice to the members of the Chicago Police Department to say that they are not responding. This is an issue that absolutely has escalated through the pandemic," Lightfoot said. "Suggestion that somehow the police are not responding, or ignoring this is just 100 percent false. These are extraordinarily dangerous, dangerous events, particularly when you see the crowds gathered for the entertainment factor. Invariably someone gets hurt, property gets damaged. So it's important that we address these, and the Police Department is very proactive on this."

The crackdown approved by the City Council is not as simple as impounding a car involved in a stunt meetup, and identified on video or tracked by police.

Per the ordinance:

• Before impounding a car, police are required to mail the car owner a "notice of intent to impound."

• The notice would include a statement of probable cause, police report, description of vehicle, and the date and time of violation.

• The car owner would have the right to contest the impoundment.

It's not just dangerous driving and tire tracks that are a problem. Sometimes, participants in the stunt driving events ignite a ring of fire in the street that people stand inside. Meanwhile, weaponized fireworks have sometimes been aimed at responding police officers.

The scenes captured in cell phone video posted to the Citizen app this past weekend show street racers and stunt drivers taking over intersections in West Loop and South Loop.

None of the drivers were charged or arrested. But Chicago Police, responding to a drag racing call on South Canal Street, did arrest a 17-year-old seen throwing fireworks at them.

The teen has been charged with felony aggravated assault of a police officer.

CBS 2's Sabrina Franza spoke with some of the drivers who are behind the wheel at such stunt driving events.

You can hear the screeching for blocks, but we rarely hear from the drivers themselves.

"We do not encourage any criminal activity, or harming police officers, or throwing objects or anything, or destroying property," one driver said.

We're keeping their identities anonymous – per their request – because of the city's new crackdown.

Some stunt drivers say there needs to be a different solution altogether; a legal regulated space for these events.

"With a legal pit, they can express ourselves … without being in the way of anybody, without disturbing anyone," one driver said. "With a public spot, anybody can jump in; but with a private, legal pit, you can check them before they come in. There won't be random people coming in, throwing objects, destroying vehicles, none of that."

The city has not entertained the idea, because as it stands, amateur stunt driving is illegal.

Drivers say the threat of taking away cars from those stunt drivers is just another way to discourage Chicago's youth from staying off the street.

"Someone like me, I need my car to get to and from work every day. You're literally making poor people more poor," one driver said.