The number of traffic deaths in Illinois is going up so far this year, the opposite of what's happening in the nation as a whole. The National Safety Council is reporting that Illinois traffic deaths for the first six months of 2017 are up four-percent to 516, from 494 during the first six months of last year. Nationally, during the same period, the number of traffic deaths declined one-percent. In neighboring Indiana, traffic deaths are up 12-percent for the first half of the year, while in Wisconsin, traffic deaths fell two-percent during that period.
