Municipalities all around Illinois employ red light cameras to catch and fine drivers breaking the law.

But it turns out some area towns have red light camera intersections which are out of compliance with their permit and possibly shouldn’t be issuing violations, according to a Fox Chicago News report with contributions from The Expired Meter.

When municipalities ask the Illinois Department of Transportation for a permit to erect an RLC on a state road running through their city limits, one of the conditions for issuance of the permit is for the town to upgrade their traffic lights. IDOT asks for any RLC intersection to have traffic lights which are 12″ round and are LED bulbs. Towns are given nine months from the date the permit is issued to comply with this request.

If they don’t, their red light camera permit is considered “out of compliance,” and possibly undermines the legality of any RLC tickets issued during the time period the permit was in question.

Through a FOIA request, Barnet Fagel, who runs a speeding and red light camera advice business call The Ticket Doctor, found several area towns not following the law. This includes Oak Forest and Homewood where RLC intersections sporting 8″ round, non-LED traffic lights were supposed to be brought up to date months ago.

“You can’t enforce the law unless you follow the law,” says Fagel. “That would be unlawful.”

Will these permit lapses allow motorists hit with $100 red light violations to successfully fight their tickets? That’s still to be determined, as no drivers have had a chance to utilize this legal defense in an RLC hearing.

Here’s the full report on Fox Chicago News, “Some Red Light Cameras in Illinois Out of Compliance with IDOT Rules.”