Protesters signal angst over red-light cameras
About 50 people rallied in support of banning red-light cameras Tuesday outside the Lombard offices of one the region's busiest suppliers of the devices.
The controversial cameras have rapidly gained popularity in the suburbs, and proponents say they improve safety. But the technology and the $100 tickets they generate, mostly for right turns, have critics like Peter Breen calling the cameras cash cows.
"These cameras are unfair, unjust, and they don't make any sense," said Breen, who organized the protest outside the doors of camera company RedSpeed. "We were sold safety and we received an ATM."
A recent investigative report by the Daily Herald found the vast majority of $100 tickets are for rolling right turns on red, a maneuver considered by experts as less dangerous than going through red lights. The newspaper also found that a number of communities have or plan to install lights at intersections with accidents unrelated to red-light running.
Breen, a Republican attorney from Lombard, is running in the 2010 primary for retiring state Rep.
Bob Biggins's seat.
He was joined by state Sen. Dan Duffy, a Lake Barrington Republican, who is proposing legislation to repeal camera laws. The devices do not improve safety and hurt drivers during a tough economy, he said, adding "it's not the time to penalize people for going 1 inch past the white line at an intersection."
Lombard has red-light cameras at two intersections. Village President Bill Mueller said police dismiss between 40 percent and 60 percent of infractions shot by the cameras.
"Our goal is to make the community safer and reduce accidents. The law says you're not supposed to turn right unless you stop," he said.
Mueller noted that the village has had the cameras for six months and will review their performance at the end of a year. "We're watching them very carefully," he said.
Activist Brian Costin, who fought red-light cameras in Schaumburg that were eventually removed, told the crowd to seek out studies and statistics on cameras. "Red-light cameras are a failure, and we must resist them locally," he said.
Among the protesters were Bill and Marianne Vivirito, who own a lighting store in Lombard. "I feel they're an invasion of privacy," Bill Vivirito said.
Other Republican candidates seeking Biggins' job are DuPage County Board member Brien Sheahan, Elmhurst Alderman Chris Nybo and Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois President Rafael Rivadeneira.
RedSpeed did not return a call seeking comment.