Don't be swayed by corporate pressure
Many suburban leaders already have an uneasy time with red-light cameras.
The cameras make municipalities loads of money at a time when towns are hurting for cash, but drivers by and large hate them and in some cases call for others to boycott businesses in towns that have them.
The cameras stop some people from making dangerous turns at busy intersections. But some motorists, rather than risking a $100 ticket, will sit in a right turn lane until the light turns green, causing traffic backups.
To top it off, the jury is still out on whether the cameras actually create a safer environment for motorists.
In the face of this, the last thing municipal leaders should do is give in to pressure to help broaden the business reach of those who operate the cameras.
A Daily Herald investigation by transportation writer Marni Pyke this week examined correspondence between Lombard-based RedSpeed Illinois, a major provider of red-light cameras in the suburbs, and suburban leaders. It revealed high-pressure tactics aimed at persuading local elected and police leaders to cajole state lawmakers into promoting red-light camera friendly legislation. The company also has pilloried those who don't support the business plan.
Which begs the question: To whom should citizens answer, their legally elected authorities or companies with the potential to make vast profits off them?
We can understand lobbying of this nature when there's an ideological position at stake, but this is not an ideological issue. RedSpeed and others are not about making our towns safer. They're about making money.
And it's not up to our local leaders to ensure that companies like RedSpeed can expand their business.
Good-government groups are suitably concerned about the pressure being brought to bear.
"They were asking for participation in lobbying that was independent of issues affecting the municipality directly," noted Terry Pastika, executive director of the Elmhurst-based Citizen Advocacy Council.
Troubling was RedSpeed's attack on the village of Schaumburg, which after about a year decided to break it off after one red-light camera near Woodfield Shopping Center had racked up more than $1 million in fines in short order.
RedSpeed took Schaumburg to task in an e-mail to other municipalities: "Make no mistake that the mayor and village board's decision is purely political in nature and has absolutely nothing to do with RedSpeed Illinois or the integrity of the program," it read.
We count on our suburban leaders to listen to their constituents and make their own decisions. We urge them to continue to listen to their hearts and not the hard sell of a company looking to make a buck off them.
RedSpeed did not talk to us for this story. Perhaps because there was nothing it could say.