Ignoring lessons

In 2009, despite public outcry the Village of Schaumburg allowed Redspeed Illinois to install a red-light camera at Woodfield Mall. RedSpeed installed photo equipment at an intersection with no history of accidents. The result was almost a million dollars in tickets in around 30 days. The reputational hit for Schaumburg was drastic. People started boycotting Woodfield, business suffered, and the village faced several lawsuits. Schaumburg’s venture into photo enforcement was nothing short of a disaster.

As they say, those who do not learn from history are bound to repeat it. Schaumburg is again following the instructions of camera companies and has started a speed-camera program. It is well understood the reasoning behind this. Photo enforcement in Illinois has generated over a billion dollars. We are going to see a strong lobbying effort from the camera companies for speed cameras statewide. Chicago has just announced in order to close its budget deficit, they are going to be installing 50 new speed cameras.

It is unfathomable that photo enforcement would start back up in Schaumburg. But those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. Schaumburg has not learned from its previous mistakes.

Robert Garrett

Schaumburg