Cullerton’s Red Light Camera ‘Reform’ Bill Passes Senate
The Illinois state Senate passed President John Cullerton’s (D-Chicago) red light camera reform bill Thursday.
The controversial bill, according to anti-red light activists doesn’t do enough to truly reform the use of RLC technology by municipalities, had 45 yea votes and 10 nay votes.
Sen. Dan Duffy (R-Lake Barrington) who had sponsored a draconian bill banning all red light cameras in the state, was one of those no votes because he felt Cullerton’s bill was too watered down.
Anti-red light camera proponents have been publicly critical of the bill.
“This bill is designed to maintain the cash cow status quo Chicago realizes from gouging city motorists since 2003,” says Barnet Fagel, traffic safety researcher for the National Motorists Association. “The bill does absolutely nothing to improve safety, but actually attempts mislead the public. The bill is not to designed to make the public safer, it’s designed to make some privileged people richer.”
The bill’s language was put together earlier in the month in Cullerton’s office with sponsors of other RLC bills and the assistance of three lobbyists working on behalf of Red Speed Illinois, Redflex, both red light camera companies and the City of Chicago.
In general, the bill codifies what is already current policy for municipality RLC programs.
The only changes of any consequence are few. One is the preventing drivers who make a complete stop while turning right on red from getting ticketed if they exceed the pavement stop bar as long as they don’t enter the intersection.
Another is mandating sworn police officers must review all alleged violations. However, Chicago is exempted from this rule.
Finally, municipalities cannot tack on additional fees if motorists decide to contest their RLC ticket. Again, Chicago has never embraced this policy.
The bill now moves on to the Illinois General Assembly.
bullshi* Wait till someone slams on their brakes to avoid a ticket and gets killed. Shame on these state politicians that voted for this do nothing reform.
This bill is really supposed to do only one thing, nullify the public outrage. Not charging more to appeal a decision to temper the white line rule, that was a ruse to begin with. Leave it to The Chicago Machine to charge you for your right to appeal your case when it was already your right. Men and women already paid for that right by sacrificing their lives, but that doesn’t matter to city hall. This bill does nothing to encourage safer traffic engineering standards and thereby safer roads. The city hides behind watered-down federal rules to promote camera profits. This bill perpetuates public opinion that “nothing has changed in the most corrupt town in the most corrupt county in the most corrupt state in the union. But we still love it here because it’s worth saving. The people make Chicago great, but the politicians make the people to hand their collective heads in shame. Vote to surgically slice out the cancerous lesions which feed off our government at many levels. Remember Schaumburg? The people have the political muscle, they just have to exercise it and use it this November to push together. Ready? One…Two… Three, we can do it.
did u read the article? “Finally, municipalities cannot tack on additional fees if motorists decide to contest their RLC ticket. Again, Chicago has never embraced this policy.” That means Chicago did not tack on this fee.
cr: The person should have been going slower in the first place, and wouldn’t have to SLAM on their brakes.
The more likely situation is that some law-abiding citizen brakes to stop for a light, and the jackass behind them accelerates since they think the person in front of them is as big of a douche as they are, and will run the light. They collide and the guy who was braking like he should have gets killed because some leadfoot is in a big fucking rush.
bman: do you actually drive in Chicago? RLCs are out of sync with other traffic lights (purposely I believe) so you never know when it’s gonna turn red. On top of that, some people believe they will get a ticket if they go through yellow light so they slam on brakes. needles to say, those are the very same people who DO NOT look in their rear view mirror when braking! We do not need RLCs, we need people who understand that they are not alone in traffic. everybody makes mistakes and increasing enforcement is not gonna change that. only common sense and better driver education.
I tried appealing one of these, even though the photo evidence showed I entered and exited the intersection on yellow. My appeal was denied and I now have the option of funding a civil suit against Chicago to appeal. This is a joke. But I am getting my payback (no I am not vandalizing the cameras). I am no longer shopping in Chicago. I will shop in the suburbs and preferably outside of Cook County. So, goofs in Chicago, you have my $100 but you have just lost your share of sales tax for groceries, clothing, etc. Chicago will soon be like Detroit.