Nearly 550 truck drivers cited for not understanding English in Illinois YTD

By Greg Bishop | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The number of English language proficiency violations for commercial drivers in Illinois year-to-date has nearly eclipsed last year’s totals with nearly 1 in 5 having CDL’s coming from the state of Illinois.

Since guidance was incorporated into the North American Standard Out-of-Service criteria in June, Illinois State Police tell The Center Square that 221 citations were issued for violating English Language Proficiency assessments.

A spokesperson said “every ISP officer conducting a commercial motor vehicle inspection initiates the inspection in English. If there is an indication the driver may not understand the inspector’s instructions, the inspector then conducts an English Language Proficiency (ELP) assessment.”

Year to date, about 550 drivers were cited for not understanding English. That’s just shy of totals for all of 2024. In 2023, there were 385. So far this year, 18% of those citations are given to in-state CDL holders.

“The vast majority of citations are given to out-of-state CDL holders,” the ISP spokesperson said.

State Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterich, reacted to nearly 1 in 5 citations going to Illinois CDL holders.

“So we need to solve the problem in the state of Illinois, the federal government, other states need to solve the problem within their states,” Niemerg told The Center Square. “But it really does scare me.”

ISP said it could not accommodate The Center Square’s request to ride along with an enforcement officer to observe the frequency of such citations.

“Also very scary that they’re willing just to supply you that information and not actually allow you, as a journalist, to go on a ride along to figure out what’s happening here in the state of Illinois, because the ISP works directly for Gov. J.B. Pritzker,” Niemerg said. “Maybe there’s something to hide there that they don’t want you to see.”

In the wake of a fatal crash involving an illegal immigrant that killed a Coles County official and his wife last month, Niemerg has filed legislation to require those wanting an Illinois issued standard driver’s license to be a U.S. citizen. Illinois allows non-citizens to be issued a standard license.

“So we really have a situation where when law enforcement pulls over an illegal immigrant, that illegal immigrant cannot speak English, law enforcement cannot detain that individual, law enforcement cannot ask the immigration status of that individual,” he said.

Niemerg’s measure comes after Mike and Gail Clayton were killed in a fatal crash involving an illegal immigrant last month.

House Bill 4184 also would require English language proficiency to get a standard driver’s license. Niemerg fired back against any notion that it is racist.

“I don’t see anything racist about that in any way, shape or form for an individual to be able to read a sign, to be able to drive here in the state of Illinois,” Niemerg said.

Illinois’ standard issue driver’s license is not federally recognized as REAL ID and cannot be used to prove citizenship, get on an airplane or enter certain federal buildings.