COOK COUNTY – The Cook County Sheriff’s Office is cracking down on reckless drivers who use the shoulder to bypass traffic — and they’re using a new helicopter to do it.

What we know:

The department launched enhanced expressway patrols this month, targeting dangerous driving along major routes including the Eisenhower Expressway.

In just three hours, deputies issued 120 tickets to motorists caught driving on the shoulder. Of those, 49 were flagged by helicopter surveillance.

Social media users reacted to the strategy after the sheriff’s office shared video of officers using the helicopter to track violators. While reaction was mixed, most applauded the tactic.

The fines are steep. Tickets for shoulder driving range from $250 to $1,000.

Officials stressed the initiative is not just about writing tickets, but about preventing deadly crashes. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported 585 fatal crashes on road shoulders nationwide in 2023.

“Some of these folks think they’re so clever because they’ll ride the shoulder and if they see a police car up ahead or for some other reason, because they see a police car, they’ll try to duck into traffic, then they think they’ve cleared it. We already have all the video footage from up above and so we just go into the traffic ourselves, get behind the person, put the lights on, pull them over…,” Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said. 

What’s next:

So far, the office has issued nearly 1,000 tickets for shoulder driving.

Deputies say aerial patrols will continue without warning. Drivers caught on the shoulder can expect fines — and depending on their record, the penalty could reach $1,000.