Drivers across Illinois who rack up two or more extreme speeding convictions in a year will soon have a new option: install a device that caps their car's speed at the posted limit, or lose their license. The law is signed but no program launch date has been set.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 4948 into law by Sunday, June 29, according to the Daily Herald, creating the state's Intelligent Speed Assistance Program. The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Marti Deuter, D-Elmhurst, and passed both chambers with bipartisan support.

Who qualifies

The law targets drivers convicted of excessive speeding twice within 12 months. Qualifying offenses include driving 60 mph in a 30 mph zone or topping 100 mph on a 70 mph interstate. Instead of traditional license suspension, these drivers can opt into the ISA program.

Deuter's office cited the crash risk posed by repeat high-speed offenders as the bill's rationale, noting they account for a disproportionate share of fatal crashes statewide.

How the device works

The Intelligent Speed Assistance device uses location-based speed recognition to lock a vehicle's maximum speed to whatever limit is posted on the road. As the driver moves between zones, the cap automatically adjusts. On a 35 mph stretch of York Road, for example, the car cannot exceed 35.

Participants keep their license and can continue driving to work and handling daily errands while the device enforces the limit for them.

Why not just pull the license?

Deuter argued that license revocation alone doesn't stop dangerous drivers from getting behind the wheel or from continuing to speed.

"Driving at high speeds is dangerous, plain and simple," Deuter said in a press release after the Senate passed the bill on Wednesday, May 20. "What we're doing is creating an option for those who have been convicted of driving at these dangerously high speeds that allows them to continue contributing to their communities while keeping our streets safer."

What comes next

No implementation timeline has been announced. The Illinois Secretary of State's office will need to establish rules for device installation, monitoring, and compliance before drivers can enroll. No data is available on how many Elmhurst-area drivers currently meet the two-conviction threshold that would make them eligible.