Blizzard won’t mean amnesty for some red-light camera violators

The empty windshield fluid tanks and iced over mirrors serve as reminders to motorists who endured long commutes during last week’s blizzard.

Some may find yet another unwelcome reminder in the mail this week.

Despite the decreased visibility and slick roads from the blizzard, some suburbs are continuing to issue red-light camera tickets for offenses that occurred Feb. 1 and Feb. 2.

“We are not giving amnesty,” said Libertyville Police Lt. Scott Fabbri. “We’ll continue reviewing them as we have since Day One.”

Libertyville isn’t the only department with that policy. Elk Grove Village police also said violators will receive tickets if they ignored or didn’t stop for red lights during the blizzard.

That’s a contrast from Chicago police, who announced Tuesday they won’t enforce red-light camera tickets on violations recorded between 6:30 p.m. Feb. 1 through 3 p.m. Feb. 2. State law requires all tickets to be reviewed by police before being sent to the owner of the vehicle, so human judgment can be used.

Chicago police said violations recorded outside that time range would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Rosemont police said their ticket policy will mirror Chicago’s.

Drivers who passed through Wheeling also won’t have to worry about fines. Wheeling police have notified their red-light camera vendor to offer amnesty.

“We’ve already sent a memo to Red Speed and told them not to issue any tickets for Tuesday and Wednesday,” Wheeling Deputy Chief John Teevans said.

A “handful” of tickets have already been excused in Fox Lake, where the storm essentially closed Route 12, leaving motorists without proper traction.

“Yes, we have excused them and prevented those tickets from going out,” Fox Lake Police Chief Mike Behan said.

The blizzard won’t affect policy in the city of Rolling Meadows, where they already give a break to motorists who at least try to stop.

“We’ve always been very lenient,” said Rolling Meadows Police Chief Dave Scanlan. “It’s about safety. The money that comes in we use to pay for the program. We don’t get a whole lot of complaints.”

That sentiment is echoed in Streamwood.

“I’m confident that if the weather played a factor in a vehicle violating the red light, the motorist was not cited,” Streamwood Deputy Police Chief James Keegan wrote via e-mail.

The blizzard won’t cause any debate about enforcement in Des Plaines. Cameras didn’t record any violations from about 3 p.m. Feb. 1 to about 10 a.m. Feb. 2.

“We’re assuming it was a total whiteout, and the cameras didn’t pick anything up,” Des Plaines police Cmdr. Tim Veit said.

Palatine police also didn’t issue a single red-light camera ticket from midday Tuesday through Thursday morning, Assistant Village Manager Sam Trakas said. Typically, Palatine cites about 40 percent of potential violators.

The human element when enforcing tickets was stressed by all police departments. Libertyville recorded four violations throughout the blizzard. And although police there said they won’t alter policy and offer amnesty, that doesn’t necessarily mean all tickets generated during the storm will be sent.

“We have to use common sense,” Libertyville’s Fabbri said.

Ÿ Daily Herald staff writers Sheila Ahern, Deborah Donovan, Lee Filas, Kimberly Pohl and Mick Zawislak contributed to this report.