Chicago DUI attorney comments on the debacle at City Hall over the issuance of traffic and parking tickets

This Chicago DUI attorney posted here about the decrease in parking and traffic violations being issued.  Looks like someone didn’t do a good job of protecting their source because today, the Chair of the Department of Revenue is the fall guy for issuing such a memo noting the decrease.

August 18, Chicago, IL:

Mayor Daley suspended his revenue director Tuesday over a memo to the police department warning that ticket writing is down — calling it “stupid.”

Revenue Director Bea Reyna-Hickey was suspended for a day over the Aug. 10 memo that told police the city “will witness a dramatic decrease in annual revenues and not meet 2010 targets” if a slump in parking tickets and vehicle-compliance tickets continues.

“Stupidity. It was stupid. Just stupid. Some bureaucrat sent that out,” Daley said at an unrelated news conference. “The revenue department has nothing to do with the police department, period. They [officers] will determine whether you violated a law. No one else can. Especially revenue can’t.”

Well sort of, the officers will determine whether a violation is alleged by issuing a charging document, generally a ticket.  It’s a judge or jury, assuming you plea not guilty who decides if you violated the law.