The Palos Park Police Department has been awarded $155,925.40 in Illinois Department of Transportation Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program grant funding for fiscal year 2027.
The grant, funded through federal highway safety dollars administered by IDOT, will support increased traffic enforcement efforts aimed at reducing dangerous driving behaviors, preventing crashes and improving roadway safety.
The department received notification that it was awarded the full amount requested for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1.
Police Commissioner Dan Polk said the funding will allow the department to continue its traffic safety efforts through a combination of enforcement and education.
“We are grateful for this grant, which allows us to continue to build on our traffic safety initiatives through a combination of education and enforcement efforts,” Polk said. “Our goal is to reduce dangerous driving behaviors, prevent crashes and make our roadways safe.”
The grant allows Palos Park police officers to work additional traffic enforcement shifts outside of their regular duties. Officers typically work four-, six- or eight-hour shifts dedicated specifically to traffic enforcement.
During those shifts, officers are assigned to areas identified as traffic enforcement hot spots. Their primary responsibility is to monitor traffic and enforce laws addressing dangerous driving behaviors.
The grant funding provides a separate source of funding for the additional enforcement work, rather than using the department’s regular operating funds to pay officers for those shifts.
IDOT provides STEP grants to law enforcement agencies as part of a statewide effort to reduce traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries. The program focuses enforcement efforts on traffic safety priorities and locations where increased enforcement can have the greatest impact.
Enforcing traffic laws is an important part of improving safety for motorists, pedestrians and other roadway users, according to the department.
Palos Park police Sgt. Ross Chibe, badge No. 1264, has managed the department’s traffic grant programs for the past four years.
The latest award will allow the department to continue targeted traffic enforcement throughout the coming fiscal year while supporting its broader efforts to make Palos Park roadways safer.
