Grant Details

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), Division of Transportation Safety (DTS) major goals are to reduce motor vehicle crashes, fatalities and injuries, increase the use of occupant protection devices, and to reduce impaired driving. 

In FY 2026, Highway Safety Funding is divided into the following grant programs:

• Mini Grant Enforcement Program - This grant is a pilot program and is only available to local law enforcement agencies that do not have a FY2025 STEP grant. The Mini Grant Enforcement Program is a scaled-down version of the year-long Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) grant. This grant focuses on the Fatal Four: occupant protection, impaired driving, speeding, and distracted driving.
• Sustained Traffic Enforcement Program (STEP) - Focuses sharply on specific times of the year and also on specific times of the day when data shows alcohol-involved and unbuckled fatalities are the highest. STEP requires participation in the Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years', St. Patrick's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day and Labor Day Campaigns. Optional weekend campaigns include Halloween and Super Bowl. NOTE: STEP participants also have the option of requesting funding for impaired driving, occupant protection, and speeding enforcement details outside of holiday campaigns. 
• Motorcycle Awareness Program - Motorcyclists are some of the most vulnerable road users in Illinois. More than 10 percent of Illinois' total fatalities are motorcyclists. It is evident that a multi-dimensional approach to motorcycle safety is needed to prevent fatalities and serious injuries. The Motorcycle Awareness Program (MAP) in Illinois consists of motorcyclist training, outreach, and education.
• Traffic Records Local Agency Program - The Illinois Traffic Records Program is managed and coordinated through the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE). The Traffic Records system includes the collection, management, and analysis of traffic safety data. It is comprised of seven core data systems: crash, driver, vehicle, roadway, citation, adjudication, and injury surveillance.
• Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program - Designed to focus on outreach/education, enforcement and training of law enforcement officials. Activities must address one or more of the following: (1) Training Efforts – training of law enforcement officials on State laws applicable to pedestrian and bicycle safety; (2) Enforcement mobilizations and campaigns designed to enforce State traffic laws applicable to pedestrian and bicycle safety; or (3) Public education and awareness campaigns designed to inform motorists, pedestrians, and bicyclists of State traffic laws applicable to pedestrian and bicycle safety.
• Non-Enforcement Program - This program includes:
  • Child Passenger Safety Resource Center - To aid local communities in reducing the death and injury rates on Illinois roads, the Illinois Department of Transportation's Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) established the Child Passenger Safety Resource Centers (CPSRC). The centers are designed to conduct public information and education campaigns focusing on Child Passenger Safety (CPS) and other highway safety issues. They serve as regional resources providing education, training, and support in promoting Child Passenger Safety programs. CPSRC program shall also focus on the Strategic Highway Safety Plan priorities areas for their region. Five CPSRC's are planned to be funded in Illinois and will be staffed by a Child Passenger Safety Liaison. The five regions covered are Chicago, Cook and Collar Counties, Northwest, Central, and Southern.
  • DUI Court Program - The DUI Court Program focuses specifically on DUI Courts, a relatively new court that borrows from the successful Drug Court Model. DUI Courts have been utilized very effectively in many states and focus directly on repeat DUI offenders and/or high-BAC offenders – essentially only high-risk, high-needs offenders. DUI Courts are proven to change behavior and reduce recidivism by holding offenders accountable. The objective of this grant is to provide the resources necessary for the startup and operating costs of the establishment and administration of a DUI Court.
  • Impaired Driving Prevention Program (formerly Local Alcohol Program) - The Impaired Driving Prevention Program (IDP) is an initiative of the Illinois Department of Transportation's Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering (BSPE) that promotes the safety and well-being of all people using Illinois' roadways. This program is preventative in nature by focusing on solutions designed to create awareness and reduction in alcohol and drug-impaired driving.
  • Injury Prevention (IP) - This program is designed to enable local agencies to conduct public information and education campaigns focusing on highway safety issues. The goal of the Injury Prevention Program is to develop and implement effective traffic safety injury prevention and education strategies in Illinois.
  • Law Enforcement Liaison Program - This program is designed to encourage law enforcement officers and their leaders to support the enforcement of traffic safety laws, particularly those dealing with impaired driving, occupant protection, distracted driving, and speeding. The goal of the LEL Program is to support local law enforcement by providing education and information on traffic safety laws, recruit new grantees, and to monitor grantees with law enforcement grants. 
• Racial Profiling Program
  • This grant program is designed to help the State of Illinois maintain and allow public inspection of statistical information on the race and ethnicity of the driver for all motor vehicle stops made on all public roads except those classified as local or minor rural roads. These grant funds are to be used in support of racial profiling data and collection and evaluation within the State of Illinois. The funds in this program are only to be used in support of:
  • Collecting and maintaining data on traffic stops; or
  • Evaluating the results of the data.