Why red-light cameras might become yellow

SPRINGFIELD - Red-light cameras would be painted yellow and signs would remind drivers they must stop on red, under a proposal suburban police chiefs are backing in an effort to clear up misunderstandings over the cameras.

"We're talking about changing drivers' behavior," said Algonquin Police Chief Russell Laine.

The proposals are part of legislation filed by state Sen. John Millner, a Carol Stream Republican and former suburban police chief. He said he took the steps after reading media reports on red-light cameras and the growing public sentiment against them.

The Daily Herald investigated the phenomenon of red-light cameras cropping up across the suburbs in a series of stories last summer. Research showed that most of the $100 tickets were being issued to people turning right on red, a maneuver safety experts consider less hazardous than barreling straight through. The newspaper also found in a number of cases, cameras were installed or planned at intersections with zero or minimal crashes related to running red lights.

"We've all heard a lot of complaints - and we've listened," Millner, flanked by suburban police, said at a Capitol news conference. They insisted the cameras improve public safety and have often provided crucial information in resolving crash responsibility.

In addition to making the cameras more visible and providing warning signs, the legislation would mandate that police officers review violations before the tickets are sent out. Millner, who said he once received a red-light camera citation in Chicago and paid it, said the review should cut down on instances where people are cited for stopping beyond the yellow line or for following through a right-hand turn on a nearly empty street.

He said the cameras provide a vital service and compared the initial backlash to that he witnessed when radar was first used to catch speeders.

"People soon accepted it," Millner said.

Other lawmakers, however, are taking a different tact.

State Sen. Dan Duffy, a Barrington Republican, was busy Tuesday morning gathering co-sponsors for his proposal to strip local police of their ability to use red-light cameras. Under his plan, the cameras would be allowed only in construction zones and at rail crossings.

Duffy said he's constantly barraged with complaints from people caught on the cameras and said the concern of the local governments using them is making money, not increasing public safety.

"It's ridiculous," he said.

Both proposals are currently awaiting action in the Illinois Senate.