Traffic light scofflaws might see red in Cook County

An automated camera could soon be snapping your picture as you blast through that red light in unincorporated Cook County.

The Cook County roads and bridges committee voted Wednesday to pass an ordinance to allow enforcement of traffic lights by automated cameras. The measure must now be approved by the full county board next week and a contractor hired to install and maintain the cameras.

No intersections for the cameras have been officially picked, but the two contractors -- Redspeed and Redflex -- working with the county surveyed six intersections to get an idea of how much revenue the county could expect to earn.

In northern Cook County, the intersections of Devon Avenue and Arlington Heights Road; Arlington Heights and Lake Cook Roads; and Roselle and Schaumburg Roads were surveyed for red-light violators.

In southern Cook, 167th and Kedzie Avenue; 80th and 171st; and 87th and Ridgeland Avenue were surveyed.

By far, southern Cook County would be much more lucrative for the county, with the three intersections averaging 4,127 violations per month and $1.97 million per intersection in annual revenue for the county. In northern cook, violations would likely average 506 monthly violations and $359,396 per intersection in annual revenue.