State Senate tightens use of red-light cameras
SPRINGFIELD - Drivers will have slightly more leeway at intersections with red-light cameras, but little else will change with the controversial ticketing machines under a proposal that cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday.
Senate President John Cullerton's legislation prevents authorities from ticketing motorists who stop beyond the white line or cross walk before entering an intersection. Still, drivers could receive the $100 tickets for making rolling right turns, a common driving maneuver that experts say is far less dangerous than the straight-through violations used to sell cameras to the public.
State Sen. Dan Duffy, a Lake Barrington Republican, proposed abolishing the cameras altogether, but his proposal gained little steam. He was targeted during a committee hearing when Cullerton showed red-light camera footage of the suburban lawmaker barreling through an intersection, which went against Duffy's account of the incident he provided the Daily Herald.
Regardless, Duffy was disappointed Cullerton's compromise glossed over the right-turn-on-red issue. If turning on red proved dangerous, Duffy said, signs should be installed to ban the maneuver at problematic intersections.
"It is like the Wild West for profits here, and these cameras and camera companies are targeting everyone while literally raking in cash on every corner where these red-light cameras exist," Duffy said.
State Sen. John Millner, a Carol Stream Republican, said the "real data" shows that the red-light cameras prevent right-turn-on-red accidents and make the roads safer. Eliminating tickets for those violations, he said, simply doesn't make sense.
"We never won popularity contests by writing traffic tickets," said Millner, a former suburban police chief.
The legislation also calls for studies to be done three years after the installation of the cameras to see whether there was an increase or decrease in the number of accidents at the intersection. Yet, the proposal doesn't address concerns that a safety issue be proven before authorities make the leap to profitable cameras.
The legislation also requires police officers or retired police officers to review the tickets in the collar counties, while Chicago and suburban Cook County operations could rely on trained technicians to review the violations. Also under the measure, motorists would be able to review citations online and they would not have to pay a fee to appeal the violations - practices that are already implemented in the vast majority of cases.
State Sen. Rickey Hendon, a Chicago Democrat, joined Duffy in his crusade to rid the state of red-light cameras, but he supported Cullerton's compromise, saying that's how politics works.
"So what do we do? Take our ball and go home or throw the baby out with the bathwater?" Hendon asked. "No, we shouldn't. We get the best bill we can."
The legislation was approved 45-10 and advances to the Illinois House for consideration.
How your lawmakers votedSPRINGFIELD - The Illinois Senate voted 45-10 to prevent authorities from ticketing motorists who stop beyond the white line or cross walk before entering an intersection. Still, drivers could receive the $100 tickets for making rolling right turns.Local senators voting "yes":Pamela J. Althoff, McHenry RepublicanDan Cronin, Elmhurst RepublicanKirk W. Dillard, Hinsdale RepublicanSusan Garrett, Lake Forest DemocratDon Harmon, Oak Park DemocratLinda Holmes, Aurora DemocratDan Kotowski, Park Ridge DemocratTerry Link, Waukegan DemocratJohn J. Millner, Carol Stream RepublicanMichael Noland, Elgin DemocratCarole Pankau, Roselle RepublicanArthur "AJ" Wilhelmi, Joliet DemocratLocal senators voting "no":Dan Duffy, Lake Barrington RepublicanRandall M. Hultgren, Winfield RepublicanChris Lauzen, Aurora RepublicanMatt Murphy, Palatine RepublicanAbsent or not voting:Michael Bond, Grayslake DemocratSource: Senate roll call SB 935