Woman in critical condition after shooting on Stevenson Expressway near Archer Avenue
CHICAGO (CBS)-- A woman was shot while driving on the Stevenson Expressway Thursday night.
Illinois State Police said the woman was shot in the head on northbound I-55 near Archer Avenue just after 10 p.m.
She was taken to Northwestern Hospital in critical condition.
Illinois State Police and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability said an off-duty Chicago Police officer was involved in the incident, but it was unclear exactly how.
Police have not released further details, but did say the incident was initially reported as a road rage incident.
Expressway shootings are happening less this year than last year.
So far in 2022, there have been 129 shootings on Illinois expressways, compared to 171 at the same time in 2021.
Expressway shootings in the month of July, in particular, were down significantly; with 41 in July 2021 compared to 17 in July 2022.
When it comes to the Stevenson Expressway, there were 30 shootings there last year, compared to just 15 so far this year.
Illinois State Police credit more than $12 million worth of license plate readers installed on Chicago area expressways since last summer.
We asked Dr. P.S. Sriraj, Director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago, if the cameras really could be to credit for the 33 percent drop in Illinois expressway shootings this year.
"They will definitely have an impact on reducing crime, or these instances of shootings, but to what extent they're going to be impactful? That needs to be studied over a longer period of time," Sriraj said.
Illinois State Police said the Stevenson Expressway shooting remained under investigation Friday afternoon, and no further information was available.
