Chicago DUI lawyer comments on legislative relief to traffic cameras

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here about red light cameras. They may increase the number of accidents at intersections (my husband’s concern); they seem to be more of a revenue maker than safety device for municipalities; and the bulk of the people caught are failing to come to full and complete stops prior to turning right. In other words, they aren’t “running” a red light as most of us think of it.

They are wheeling and dealing down in Springfield during the current legislative session to turn of the revenue garnering power of red light cameras.

March 16, Springfield, IL

Red-light camera tickets would be slightly harder to get and cheaper to appeal under a reform plan endorsed by Senate leaders Monday that fell far short of the sweeping overhaul demanded by critics of the automated devices.

The measure was sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, and hammered out in a closed-door meeting last week with other lawmakers and lobbyists for Redflex and Redspeed, vendors hired to operate camera systems for Chicago and many suburbs.

The Cullerton plan, sent by the Transportation Committee to the Senate floor on a 10-0 vote, would nibble at the edges of complaints that have arisen as cameras have proliferated across the region in recent years. It would ban the city and suburbs from tacking on an extra fee to the standard $100 fine if a ticket is appealed, a common practice which deters many motorists from fighting the charges.

The measure would also give drivers more wiggle room to creep up to the edge of an intersection before stopping. A complete stop would still be required before making a right turn on red, but drivers could come to a halt after the painted stop line without getting a ticket as long as pedestrians were not nearby. Drivers awaiting a green light to head straight into an intersection also could make stops past the stop line without being nabbed by a camera.

"We want to take away the motivation of the municipalities to just make money by issuing red-light tickets," Cullerton said. "The whole goal here is safety."

I’m not that convinced that the goal was ever safety instead of revenue both for the municipalities as well as the corporations with contracts from your tax dollars for the cameras.