Extreme Speeders Face Stricter Supervision Under ‘Julie’s Law’

We see it all the time in Geneva police reports: "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident" or "high-speed chase" or simply violations that are 30 or 40 mph above the speed limit.

Now, drivers who habitually drive at high speeds and get only a slap on the wrist when convicted, face a stiffer fate if Gov. Pat Quinn signs a bill that is on his desk.

Illinois House lawmakers on May 16 passed a bill drafted in response to a fatal 2011 south suburban crash that would toughen penalties for extreme speeders. the Chicago Tribune is reporting.

The legislation, now headed to the governor's desk, would prevent judges from granting a special probation known as court supervision to those caught driving more than 25 mph over the limit on a nonrural road or more than 30 mph on a highway. Currently, drivers caught driving more than 40 mph over the speed limit are not eligible for supervision.

Dubbed "Julie's Law," the bill was developed in part by the family of a 17-year-old Frankfort girl who was killed in a crash in Orland Park last June. Julie Gorczynski was riding in her friend's Jeep after her shift at an area movie theater when a 21-year-old man driving at least 36 mph over the speed limit crashed into the passenger side of the Jeep, police said.

Despite the driver's history of speeding violations, which the Tribune found resulted in at least seven court supervisions, Lukasz Marszalek still had his driving privileges. If some of those supervisions would instead have been convictions, Gorczynski's parents said it's possible his driving privileges would have been suspended before the crash that killed their daughter.

Rich and Pam Gorczynski have said they know the new law won't bring their daughter back, but they hope it can save another family from going through a similar tragedy.

Marszalek faces misdemeanor aggravated speeding charges in the crash that killed Gorczynski.