We shop at Walmart; what does that say?

Recently I went to my administrative hearing at the Villa Park village hall. There were about 16 of us unlucky souls.

There, behind the long desk, sat our hearing officer, wearing a suit and tie, even in this non air condtioned room. We were told his job was to look at the video and make a determination of us being liable or not liable. He told us what circumstances where we were not liable: in a funeral procession, getting out of the way of an ambulance, etc.

He called us up, the women with the small children first. We had a small amount of time to say our piece. We might as well have been speaking to a brick wall. Of the 16 of us, I believe 15 were for right turn on red, one for driving through a red light in the rain. Of the 16 of us, only one was found not liable.

If my count is correct, that was $1,500 made in 30 minutes. It is a matter of money. Money for Villa Park and money for Red Speed. The Villa Park Police Department says these lights are "to improve intersection safety." Clearly it is for revenue.

Perhaps if those who received tickets at Route 83 and Riverside stopped shopping at Walmart, its sales would decrease and so would Villa Park's revenue from Walmart.

As the poor woman who got two tickets from the same red light camera at Walmart said to me, "We are shopping at Walmart, that says something about our financial situation."

Jeanne Barnett

Brookfield