The Illinois Secretary of State's Office proposed in January, with little notice, a drastic cut to training required commercial driver's licenses.
CHICAGO -- Despite having one of the better safety records for commercial drivers in the country, Illinois recently considered rolling back requirements for many truck and bus drivers.
But in January the agency wrote a rule change that would reduce by 50% the training required for new truck drivers, from 160 hours to 80 hours. "It was to all commercial truck driving schools in the state of Illinois," said Gold, "I think we all shook our heads and wondered what is going on? Why would the state want to do that?"
Estimates from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show fatalities involving large trucks were down in 2020 despite an overall increase in traffic deaths nationwide. The I-Team contacted the Secretary of State's Office about the submitted change. Secretary of State Jesse White instituted commercial driver's license reforms decades ago, following a fiery crash that killed six children in 1994 and exposed a network of bribes-for-licenses uncovered by the I-Team that ended up landing White's predecessor, Governor George Ryan, in federal prison.
What set off the state's own review was new federal oversight that went into effect a month ago. For the first time, across the country, all entry level CDL drivers must meet the same standards, but the rule imposes no set requirements for behind-the-wheel training. States that certify driving programs have the option to set their own driving hours.