Carol Stream, Illinois Speed Traps

City police officers sit in the Brunswick Zone parking lot on a daily basis (at least 3 times a week) usually from about 7-9am (ocassionaly at night too) They are clocking the east bound traffic. One officer stands outside the car behind a bush with a hand held laser unit, he will clock you and radio your car info, speed and distance to a officers a block away. They typically give the drivers 8-10 over, and love to pick the last car in a pack.

These guys are brutal! They have been seen shooting radar/laser while "mowing grass" in the median as well as sitting in a "cherry picker" on the north side of North Ave.

Southbound traffic from Thunderbird. The officer stands on the West side of County Farm Rd, in jeans and a t-shirt, shooting laser. The squads are literally lined up on Jefferson and are ready to pull out and nab you.

The officer sits in the parking lot of the appartment complex. The car is concealed by trees and bushes when traveling east bound but sits far enough just off the road (and in lower topography) to make west bound traffic not really notice the vehicle. I used to live in that very same complex and I got a ticket as I was slowing down to enter the lot he was parked in. Its a tricky spot – but good.

Cops sit under the shape of the trees in the Ice Skating Rink. Mostly under cover cars hanging out pulling over more suspicious vehicles. I drive a Montero Sport and my wife a Subaru Outback. I always do the 25mph speed limit there – you have to with all the appartments and kids – its good to see the cops enforcing it there. However, eventhough I have never been pulled over in my wifes car, I was pulled over in my Montero. The only difference betweem the two vehicles aside from the body style is the fact that my windows are tinted – all the way around. Which in this neighborhood seems to be a bit of a sign of some wrong doing. I was pulled over. The officer approached the vehicle all carefullly (understandable since I have tinted windows). He gets to the car and I roll down my window, wife 6 month old baby and a back seat full of groceries. His posture immediately relaxes as he simply says "thank you for doing the speed limit, have a nice day".

I gotta say, to this day, I still am very uncomfortable with that situation – what would have it been like is I had no groceries, no son, no wife, and dark skin – but was the same person I am today? Carol Stream is small suburb of Chicago with its own suburban-ghetto – watch yourself if you’re passing through.