The Chicago Department of Transportation and the Chicago Police Department announced that, for the third year in a row, they are carrying out a crosswalk enforcement initiative aimed at protecting pedestrians' safety.  The initiative consists of “sting operations” in which off-duty, undercover police officers pose as pedestrians crossing the street within a marked crosswalk.  If oncoming drivers fail to stop -- as required by law -- the vehicle will be pulled over by a police officer waiting further down the street.  Motorists can incur fines from $50 to $500.

In addition to daytime enforcement operations, this year’s initiative will focus on nighttime pedestrian safety in three neighborhoods -- areas with high numbers of nighttime pedestrian crashes, according to CDOT. Nighttime enforcements began in April in the Lake View neighborhood.