Northwest suburban Schaumburg first red light camera will be operational as of November according to the Schaumburg Review newspaper.

Five total intersections will get red light cameras, with the first being…

*Woodfield and Meachum, followed by

*Higgins and Martingale

*Golf and Higgins

*Golf and Roselle

*Golf and Meacham

Red light cameras to go up in November

By Todd Shields

The first of five busy Schaumburg intersections will be equipped in November with video cameras to record motorists illegally driving through red lights.

In what direction the camera will be pointed at in the first installation, Woodfield and Meacham roads, has not been determined, but signs telling drivers they are approaching a monitored road will be posted when other intersections are selected.

Fines are $100 per offense, and the tentative roads are Higgins and Martingale, Golf and Higgins, Golf and Roselle and Golf and Meacham.

“The bottom line is we want to reduce accidents, specifically at these intersections. The high amount of red light violations there are causing traffic accidents,” said Schaumburg police Sgt. John Nebl.

In September, Schaumburg trustees hired the private company RedSpeed of Illinois, Lombard, to install cameras, to record violations and to issue motorists tickets if needed.

Violators will receive mailed tickets showing photos of the white-line crossover and exact times, dates, locations and license plate numbers. Ticket also explain how to pay fines or schedule appeals in village adjudication court that meets twice monthly at Schaumburg Police Department, 1000 W. Schaumburg Road.

Nebl said red light infractions were treated like parking tickets and would not appear on insurance driving records.

“We can’t verify who was driving the vehicles,” he said.

He also said RedSpeed technicians and Schaumburg police review taped violations before fines are issued, and drivers can see the incident on a Web site address written on tickets.

Forty-eight Chicago-area villages have contracted with RedSpeed, among them Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove Village, Palatine, Wheeling and Prospect Heights.

Kenneth Fritz, Schaumburg village manager, said fines will pay for RedSpeed’s monthly equipment fee of $1,499. The company also receives fine fees for each step in processing violations, such as reviewing tickets, maintaining its Web site and providing information in adjudication court, Fritz said.

“There will be no out-of-pocket money spent on equipment for this,” he said.

Schaumburg’s red light camera program fell behind other northwest suburbs because the company considered before RedSpeed wanted to dig up public property to install its equipment, which was unacceptable to village officials, Fritz said.