A little more than two months from now, drivers will be able to motor down Illinois interstates at 70 mph, notes the Chicago Tribune. There’s only one snag: It’s unclear which interstates. Bewilderment has surfaced over a bill Gov. Pat Quinn signed in August, against the recommendations of the Illinois Department of Transportation, state police and road safety organizations, that authorizes higher speed limits on rural interstates starting Jan. 1.
The legislation also allows the six counties in the Chicago area and two in the St. Louis area to set their own interstate speed limit. This creates the somewhat unsettling prospect of 70 mph speed limits on heavily traveled suburban interstate highways that have always had speed limits of 55 mph or less. Officials are working to untangle the issues.