Legal Perspectives on Illinois' Red Light Revenue Strategy

Most, if not all, Illinois residents are familiar with the traffic cameras that snap a photo of those who run through a red light. This red light infraction monitoring tool has generated not millions but billions of dollars for cities, particularly Chicago.  

The Illinois Policy Institute released a recent study that found that local municipalities across Illinois have collected around $500 million in the past four years from red light ticket fines. Over the past six years, since 2018, this amount has topped $1.56 billion. Chicago alone has collected $915.5 million of that total.  

At least 527 red light cameras are located across the state. Chicago once again tops the list of local governments that have installed them, with 300 red light cameras in the city alone. Chicago also operates 169 speed cameras. Thanks to these cameras, the city has issued 1.56 million tickets, which drew in $102 million in 2023. 

Intent 

Chicago's Red Light Camera Enforcement Program was created to increase safety on the city's streets and decrease collisions. Chicago started using red light cameras twenty years ago, installing them at only two intersections. The program has been significantly expanded, as noted above. The purpose was ostensibly unrelated to collecting fines to line the city's coffers. However, the revenue from red light camera enforcement has been undeniably massive.  

Intersection Safety 

Illinois State Representative from Geneva, Dan Ugaste, has said that red light cameras should only be used where traffic safety is a serious issue.  According to Representative Ugaste, it would be worthwhile to have these cameras "if it shows a decrease in incidents or accidents" related to the cameras being placed there. Otherwise, he believes that the cameras are just "revenue-generating devices for local government," and that is not what should be intended for their use.  According to a Chicago Tribune study, the Illinois Department of Transportation found that over half of the intersections where cameras were placed were some of the safest intersections in the state, even before the installation of the cameras. 

According to Chicago Department of Transportation analyses of their red light camera-equipped intersections, serious crashes were significantly reduced after the installation of the cameras. Statistics published on the Department of Transportation website indicate that "t-bone" crashes were decreased to 55% of what they had been prior to camera installation, rear-end crashes were down to 70% of what they had been, crashes involving pedestrians were down to 41%, and all crashes at these intersections were down to 56%. According to the same source, locations for red light camera installations are chosen following a review and analysis of crash data, and the intersections with the highest rate of t-bone crashes, in particular, are selected for installation.

Legislation Related to the Red Light Camera Industry 

In recent years, seven public officials throughout the state have been charged with federal bribery and corruption crimes for participating in schemes related to the cameras. Last year, the Illinois General Assembly passed a ban on campaign contributions from the red light camera industry following a federal bribery scandal involving the cameras' operators. Even after this legislation was passed and took effect, multiple state senators continued to accept contributions from Redspeed Illinois, one of the contractors operating red light cameras.

The legislation's ban applies to contributions from red light camera companies and their executives but does not appear to prohibit lobbyists for the industry from making them. The ban does apply to all state or local public officials and prohibits them from accepting contributions from the companies or their executives. 

According to the Illinois State Elections Board executive director, House Bill 3903's statutory language does not contain any specific penalties for violations by elected officials. All it does is provide a prohibition but no precise enforcement mechanism. That is, unless and until an elected official is formally charged with bribery or a similar crime in connection with what the statute refers to as an "automated traffic law enforcement system," which includes red light cameras.

The legislation also prohibits public officials from knowingly accepting employment or receiving compensation from a supplier of automated traffic law enforcement equipment or services. 

Legally Permissible  

Red light cameras are legally permissible under the Illinois Vehicle Code as part of the automated traffic enforcement system. The types of enforcement allowed under the code include speed enforcement by the Illinois Department of Transportation and Illinois State Police in work zones, speed enforcement by the Chicago Department of Transportation in safety zones, red light running enforcement on state and local roads in several counties in the Metro Chicago area; railroad grade crossing gate violations; and school bus arm violations. Red light camera violations within Chicago are not considered moving violations but administrative violations comparable to a parking ticket.

There has been a push to ban red light cameras at intersections outright, with the recent attempt fizzling out in 2021. Currently, it does not appear to be under threat. Still, with media inquiries into the practice and legislators such as Representative Ugaste questioning its usefulness, it would not be surprising if another proposed ban makes its way through the general assembly. A point of contention would be that the state, and particularly the city of Chicago, would stand to lose a significant sum if it ever comes to pass. Given the conflicting information available, it remains to be seen which path is the best to take in every sense of the phrase.  

Source

https://heartlandernews.com/2024/05/14/red-light-cameras-rake-in-1-billion-from-drivers-in-illinois/