Illinois Rep. claims “outrageous” number of drivers didn’t speak English during her plain clothes tour of truck stops

A representative from Illinois claims that an “outrageous” number of truck drivers did not speak English during her string of visits to truck stops in her district. 

Illinois US Representative Mary Miller of district 15 in central Illinois says that she is in support of withholding federal funds from states that are not compliant with federal CDL requirements enforced in the recent crackdown. Miller says that her recent tour of truck stops only reinforced that support. 

“I have in plain clothes gone from truck stop to truck stop in my district and I go to the cashier and I ask them this question, ‘how many of the truckers come in here speak no English?’ And every single time they have told me almost all of them,” Miller said to The Center Square. “And it’s just outrageous.”

Illinois State Police data shows that almost 1 in 5 CDL holders with English Language Proficiency violations have CDLs issued by the state of Illinois. Miller says if the ELP violations do not get under control, she will advocate for the withholding of federal funds.  

“If you don’t stop the funding to the states that are flouting our laws, they’re not going to change,” she said. “The bill, the Safe Driving Law Act, that will rescind half of the highway funding to states like Illinois that refuse to cooperate.”

The Illinois Secretary of State’s office says the state government already takes the standards seriously and “will continue enforcing federal requirements and working with our partners to ensure CDL holders in Illinois meet all licensing and safety obligations.”

“These used to be good jobs for people that didn’t go to college, and we should restore the trucking industry back to the American people,” Miller continued. “And I want to go after the trucking companies, is another thing, that’s hiring these people.”