City Turns To Cameras To Raise Revenue

The City of Chicago has formally asked the Illinois Legislature to allow it to use cameras to nab speeders in school safety zones.  The request comes at a time when the City of Chicago is facing major budget problems.  At $100 per ticket, the additional revenue would come in handy.  The City of Chicago owns its own red light camera system which is capable of detecting the speed of vehicles.  All the city needs to do is attach a strip on the ground to calibrate the speed of a vehicle.  The legislation was introduced last week by Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.  The proposal would allow speeding tickets to be issued by cameras in school safety zones.  The mayor's office has compiled statistics to argue that the measure is needed to insure public safety.  But critics point out that even supporters of the measure agree that the revenue raised would come in handy during difficult economic times for the city.  It is not yet clear how many cameras would be used and how much money would be raised or exactly where this money would go.  It is not yet entirely clear what the prospects of passage of the measure will be in Springfield.  In the past few years, there has been a backlash against the use of red light cameras.  However, yesterday the measure passed through its first test in the State Senate when the Senate Executive Committee passed the measure 9 to 4, sending it to the full Senate for its consideration.

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