This past month, local law enforcement officers rose to the challenge and completed the ITEA’s signature Advanced Truck Enforcement Officer training.  This 40-hour training class went above and beyond any basic class they previously encountered.  Curriculum presented included the nitty-gritty of overweight and over-dimension permitting, Illinois Vehicle Code equipment and overweight violations, and Secretary of State Commercial Driver’s License and Registration law.  What the

Happy New Year from the Illinois Truck Enforcement Association! Last week this blog had to focus on some of the negative outlooks moving into the new year, but now it’s time to get the glass half full! The article this week will highlight some upcoming events and initiatives of the ITEA. Calendar year 2015 was not a banner year for law enforcement, but it’s over now. Calendar year 2016 shows a lot of promise! Training Bad news: the State of Illinois is broke. There is no bud

It’s the end of the year as Illinois knows it, and you feel <insert emotion/illness/expletive>. Usually at this time every website, magazine, radio station and special interest group is listing their year in review. No doubt a lot has happened in 2013 with the ITEA…it’s been a banner year for sure. In the spirit of 2014 being the year of distracted driving reform, 2013 is in the rearview. The ITEA is eyes forward and hammer down, trucking hard into 2014. Here are some preview

Each year the Illinois Truck Enforcement Association rallies together leaders who work tirelessly to bridge the chasm between the worlds of the trucking industry and law enforcement.  The goal?  Uniformity.  The method?  Authority.  The means?  The 3rd Annual Truck Officer Conference on January 8th, 2014.  Some familiar faces, some new ones.  Who the messengers are is not what is important though…it’s the message these experts bring.  Those who attend will walk away with crit

This past January the Illinois Truck Enforcement Association hosted a truck officer conference at the Suburban Law Enforcement Academy in Glen Ellyn, IL. On January 9th, 2013, we are doing it again! If you are a police officer in Illinois that performs truck enforcement, are you signed up yet? If you are trucker who works in Illinois, have you called the towns where truck enforcement is happening to make sure their officers are signed up? The January 2012 event had an inc

One of the challenges of running an organization like the Illinois Truck Enforcement Association is determining where to set up boundaries as to what the association will get involved with. Law enforcement and trucking are both complex and have vast amounts of side projects. They are all worthy and need attention, but it’s impossible to be everything to everyone. In the fall of 2011, the ITEA became aware of an non-profit organization called Truckers Against Trafficking. TAT

In Illinois, some police officers specialize in truck enforcement full time or within a dedicated traffic unit, but not all.  Rookie police officers fresh out of the academy can enforce truck laws without any training.  A police chief who has been off the street for 15 years can enforce truck laws without any training.  Most police officers go through a 40-hour training class on size and weight to learn the trade before writing tickets, but there is no requirement! Any police

The ITEA partnered with the Illinois State Police, Illinois Dept of Transportation, Secretary of State, and Mid-west Truckers Association to introduce a Senate Bill that was signed into law in July by Governor Quinn (PA 97-0201).  This critical piece of legislation fixed confusing language from Public Act 96-0034 which intended to bring uniform weight limits to Illinois.  It also capped fines for overweight on registration violations and provided weight tolerances for Auxilia