Springfield – The City of Chicago would be prohibited from requiring police officers to fulfill ticket quotas and assessing officers based on the number of tickets they issue under legislation passed out of the Illinois Senate today.

The legislation, Senate Bill 3509, is sponsored by State Senator Bill Cunningham, a Democrat representing Chicago and the Southwest Suburbs.

SB 3509 would rescind the City of Chicago’s exemption from a 2014 law banning counties and municipalities from assigning ticket quotas and using the number of tickets an officer issues as a performance evaluation. The law made exemptions for municipalities with their own independent inspectors general and law enforcement review authorities.

“Policing should not be used as a revenue enhancement strategy by municipalities,” Cunningham said. “This bill will ensure our officers are not distracted from their regular law enforcement duties in order to meet ticket quotas.”

Supporters of the legislation, such as the Fraternal Order of Police, argue that ticket quotas create unnecessary tension between law enforcement and the communities they serve by interfering with officers’ ability to exercise compassion in certain situations.

SB 3509 passed out of the Senate and now moves to the House for consideration.