Delays and declining revenue: Are red-light cameras in the suburbs on their last legs?

Several suburbs are finding it increasingly difficult to bring red-light cameras back online after they’ve been deactivated for construction projects or a change of equipment vendors.

Gurnee officials announced last week they were scuttling their red-light program after 16 years due to what Village Manager Pat Muetz called “operational challenges we’ve faced combined with expiration of the contract.”

Muetz said the operational challenges largely were caused by the Illinois Department of Transportation taking the cameras offline for road construction projects in the area and keeping them down even after construction was complete. He said driver behavior and a reduction of crashes at intersections where the cameras were located also played a part in the village’s decision to end the program.

“It was a combination of both, but probably more having the cameras offline,” he said.

Four cameras have been deactivated since 2019, and another four since 2021. Two more were deactivated in 2024, Gurnee records show.

Gurnee was generating nearly $1 million a year from its red-light camera program, but last year when several cameras were deactivated, the village received less than $400,000 from fines associated with the cameras.

IDOT officials did not respond to a request for a comment about complaints the agency was dragging its feet allowing municipalities to reactivate cameras following construction or signing off on new vendors where cameras already existed.

“Last week, we finally got our red-light cameras turned back on,” said Hanover Park Mayor Rodney Craig. “Two years ago, they were turned off for road upgrades and during that time … IDOT has had a lot of conflict internally about using them apparently.”

Hanover Park saw revenue drop from nearly $140,000 in 2021 to a little more than $2,000 last year.

Palatine officials contracted with a new vendor that handles the camera equipment nearly three years ago and sought certification from IDOT at the time.

In this year’s budget, village finance officials eliminated the revenue source all together.

“The village has been waiting over two years for IDOT to issue the permits for the installation of our red-light cameras from the switch to the new vendor with no indication that they will be even considering the application,” finance officials noted in the budget book. “Thus, we have been left with no choice but to eliminate this revenue source from the budget until we receive more communication from IDOT. These revenues are a significant portion of our funding of the Police Department.”

According to the village’s most recent audits, Palatine’s red-light cameras went from generating nearly $300,000 in 2021 to less than $13,000 last year.

Red-light cameras have been controversial even before they were allowed by state law nearly 20 years ago. Many accused municipalities of using the devices as a “cash grab” by fining motorists for failing to come to a complete stop before turning right at an intersection.

Some towns stopped fining for that infraction as a result or took the cameras down altogether.

Schaumburg quickly took them down in 2009 shortly after they were installed near Woodfield Mall after they infamously generated nearly $1 million in less than three months of operation at an intersection that wasn’t considered one of the village’s top 10 most dangerous.

Naperville removed its cameras in 2012, St. Charles followed in 2013. Lake in the Hills took its cameras down about a decade ago. And in 2023, Roselle eliminated the program, as well.

Roselle Village Administrator Jason Bielawski said construction projects at the intersections where the cameras were situated were planned and village officials didn’t believe they’d be “eligible” to reinstall them when the work was complete.

Increasing traffic safety was the impetus cited by most municipal officials when the devices were installed, but IDOT doesn’t even keep records of crash data at locations equipped with cameras despite having to approve their use.

According to a fact sheet about red-light camera policies created by the Illinois Municipal League, towns with the cameras “must conduct a statistical analysis to assess the safety impact of each of their red-light cameras” every two years and publish the results on their websites.

Those reports often are hard to find and overly complicated. Still, the results of the analyses vary from town to town.

Des Plaines reported crashes at the intersection of Golf and Rand roads dropped from the 55 between 2007 and 2009 to 24 between 2019 and 2021. Injuries also declined.

In Winfield, a report shows red-light cameras had little effect on crashes at the intersection of Roosevelt and Winfield roads, going from 65 between 2008 and 2010 to 59 between 2020 and 2022.

Oakbrook Terrace was forced to remove its cameras that were generating millions of dollars in fines annually at Route 83 and 22nd Street following a legal battle with the state and neighboring Oak Brook.

“Our analysis showed they’d increased crashes at the intersection and IDOT concluded the same,” said Oak Brook Village Manager Greg Summers. “So they’ve been removed along with the poles they were mounted on.”