Speed limit raised to 70 mph on rural interstates

Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville)

The Governor yesterday signed SB 2356, a bill to raise the speed limit on rural Illinois interstates to 70 miles per hour, effective January 1.

Starting next year, drivers on all Illinois interstates and tollways outside the Chicago and St. Louis metropolitan areas can drive at speeds up to 70 miles per hour. As a safety measure, the law lowers the threshold for charging a speeding driver with a misdemeanor from 31 miles over the limit down to 26.


Rep. Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake) 

Illinois joins 36 other states in which all or parts of the interstate system have a speed limit of 70 mph or higher. Among Illinois' neighbors, only Wisconsin has a statewide 65 mph limit.

The House version of the bill, HB 2573, was introduced and sponsored by Reps. C.D. Davidsmeyer (R-Jacksonville) and Barbara Wheeler (R-Crystal Lake), who were co-sponsors of the bill Governor Quinn signed this week. The bill passed the House 85-30 and the Senate 41-6.