Illinois lawmakers could revisit a proposal to test autonomous vehicles during the November veto session, bringing questions about safety and local oversight back into focus for Cook County communities, including Oak Park.

State Rep. Kam Buckner, D-Chicago, said negotiations over House Bill 4663 are continuing, but he does not want to rush the proposal, Capitol News Illinois reported Oct. 22. He has also urged the Northern Illinois Transit Authority to study whether autonomous vehicles could connect riders with existing transit services.

Buckner describes a limited pilot intended to gather evidence before broader deployment. Transportation advocates, meanwhile, want municipalities to retain authority over where and how the vehicles operate.

The proposal comes as federal investigators examine Waymo incidents involving a child struck near a Santa Monica elementary school and vehicles passing stopped school buses in Austin.

Federal investigations pile up

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) opened two investigations on Jan. 23, according to preliminary reports released March 3.

In Santa Monica, an unoccupied Waymo vehicle traveling 17 mph in a school zone struck a child who ran between stopped cars near an elementary school, according to the NTSB. The child reported minor injuries and did not need medical transport. A Waymo remote assistant in Novi, Michigan, called 911 after the collision.

In Austin, the NTSB found that Waymo vehicles repeatedly passed school buses displaying flashing red lights with stop arms extended. In one Jan. 12 incident, a Waymo vehicle initially stopped for a bus, then asked a remote assistant whether the bus had active signals. The assistant answered "No." The vehicle drove past the bus while its stop arms were still out.

Austin Independent School District reported multiple such incidents during the 2025-2026 school year, including one on Jan. 14 involving a special-needs bus route, according to the NTSB. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) opened its own evaluation of the Austin incidents on Oct. 17, 2025.

Software recall

Waymo recalled software on 3,067 vehicles on Dec. 10, 2025, according to a NHTSA recall report. The company traced the problem to an August 2025 update that caused vehicles to incorrectly conclude they were blocking a school bus and should move. Waymo received 12 citations related to the behavior between Sept. 25 and Nov. 14, 2025, according to the recall filing. No collisions resulted from the school bus violations, the filing stated.

Waymo deployed a software fix to all affected vehicles between Nov. 5 and Nov. 17, 2025. Both NTSB investigations remain open, and the agency's findings are preliminary.

What it means for Cook County

Buckner's bill would restrict AV testing to counties with more than 1 million residents, plus Sangamon, Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties, ABC 7 reported. Cook County would be the primary testing ground.

Jim Merrell, advocacy director with the Active Transportation Alliance in Chicago, said Illinois should preserve local governments' ability to regulate where autonomous vehicles operate. He said that authority matters for cities like Chicago to protect infrastructure such as bus stops and bike lanes, according to Capitol News Illinois.

Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli said the company is committed to "continuous improvement" and that its fleet learns from incidents across the more than 4 million miles it drives weekly, according to ABC 7. The company currently operates fully only in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia and Texas.

P.S. Sriraj, director of the Urban Transportation Center at the University of Illinois Chicago, raised concerns about whether the technology can handle Illinois conditions. He pointed to icy roads and poor lane markings as challenges, ABC 7 reported.

What comes next

Buckner hopes lawmakers will consider the proposal during the November veto session, but said it may need to be reintroduced in January, WBBM Newsradio reported Oct. 23.

He said discussions with labor advocates, rideshare drivers and others are continuing as he works to address concerns about jobs and safety. He has also asked the Northern Illinois Transit Authority to explore how autonomous vehicles could connect riders with public transportation.

“We’re trying to make sure we get this right,” Buckner told WBBM.

For Oak Park and neighboring communities, the proposal remains a legislative question rather than an approved rollout. Whether it advances this fall or returns in January, lawmakers still must decide what safeguards and local oversight would accompany testing.