The Illinois State Police say their ongoing crackdown on vehicle theft and carjacking is paying off, thanks in part to millions of dollars in grant funding aimed at fighting those crimes.

State police are using money from the Illinois Secretary of State’s Vehicle Hijacking and Motor Vehicle Theft Prevention and Insurance Verification Council. ISP received a 10-million-dollar grant in the first fiscal year of the program, followed by another 677-thousand dollars in June of 2024 and 637-thousand-500 dollars in July of 2025.

From October through December of 2025 alone, state police missions targeting stolen and hijacked vehicles led to the recovery of 243 vehicles across Illinois.

During that same three-month period, troopers made 23 arrests connected to stolen vehicles and one arrest tied directly to a vehicle hijacking. Five firearms were also seized during those investigations.

In total, ISP conducted 35 missions focused on vehicle theft and related violent crime, using K9 units in 19 of those operations and Air Operations in 35 missions. The state police crime lab also handled more than 1,000 forensic assignments connected to stolen or hijacked vehicles during that time frame.

Several of those cases involved dangerous chases and multiple suspects. On October 31st in Chicago, state police located a stolen Nissan on Interstate 94. The vehicle fled, and two suspects ran into a residence, where troopers also discovered a stolen Porsche and two firearms.

On November 21st, another stolen vehicle fled from troopers on I-94. Five people ran from the vehicle and were all taken into custody. And on December 22nd in Carbondale, troopers attempted to stop an Audi that had been taken in an armed carjacking. The vehicle was later found abandoned in a field, and two suspects were arrested.

State police say these enforcement efforts will continue as part of their ongoing push to reduce vehicle theft, carjacking, and the violent crime that often goes along with it.