Chicago City Council

Chicago City Council to vote on reducing speed limits on city streets

The City Council will vote on the measure Wednesday

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Chicago drivers could see reduced speed limits next year on city streets.

The City Council on Wednesday will weigh whether to reduce Chicago's official speed limit on surface streets from 30 miles per hour to 25, and the move is drawing mixed reactions.

Ald. Daniel La Spata, who represents the city’s 1st Ward, is in favor of the proposal.

"New York, Minneapolis, Boston, even Oak Park and Evanston. They’ve already done this same step of lowering the municipal speed limit to 25 miles per hour," La Spata said.

The Committee on Pedestrian and Traffic Safety already recommended the plan, which is intended to lower speeds and to reduce the number of crashes and the number of pedestrian fatalities in the city.

While the move could potentially come with a price tag of approximately $2.5 million to change signage, La Spata said an effort at the state level could help defray that cost, as the Illinois Department of Transportation is weighing similar policy changes.

He said that IDOT would be "likely to follow suit" if Chicago lowered its speed limit, and that the state producing new signage could save Chicago the money.  

It could cost the city money to replace speed limit signs.

Tom Carney, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Transportation, says his office is ready to implement the changes in January 2026 if the bill passes.  

"While there's a lot of details to work out, we stand at the ready to support lowering the speed limit in the interest of safety," he said.

The City Council cited statistics indicating pedestrians have a 90% chance of surviving being struck by a vehicle traveling 20 miles per hour, compared to a 60% chance if the vehicle is traveling 30 miles per hour.

After implementation of similar legislation in Seattle, there was a 17% drop in the odds of an injury crash in downtown and a 20% reduction on arterial streets, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Critics of the legislation expressed concerns that lowering the city’s speed limit could result in the issuance of more speeding tickets, including from speed cameras. Critics say those tickets could disproportionately impact lower-income drivers.

Ald. Derrick Curtis says he understands those concerns, but that pedestrian safety is paramount.

"I'm not a fan. I hope people don't get these tickets, but it's something that we need to stop the fatalities and stop the accidents," he said.

Previously, Ald. Jason Ervin had sought a more limited approach to lowering speed limits, citing concerns about the issuance of tickets, according to Block Club Chicago.

If the legislation passes the City Council, it will go into effect in January 2026, according to officials.

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