CHICAGO, July 25 (UPI) -- Civil rights groups asked the governor of Illinois to disallow police raids on cars during traffic stops -- they say the practice results in racial profiling.
Civil rights activists wrote a letter to Gov. Rod Blagojevich, claiming state-backed studies found black and Hispanic drivers are unjustly targeted by the state's law enforcement officials, the Chicago Tribune reported Thursday.
The letter asked Blagojevich to put an end to "consent searches," during which motorists allow officers to search their vehicles.
"Now we have the proof in the pudding and that is that not only are (these searches) occurring with greater frequency among minority drivers, but that they are occurring with dramatically less effectiveness," said Harvey Grossman, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
Blagojevich said he was against "any unjustified differential treatment of any group" and he looked forward to "working with the coalition to further our shared goals."
