County Board president hopefuls wary of suburban red-light cameras

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin wants to delay bringing the county's red-light traffic cameras to the suburbs until a new board president is seated in November.

The Evanston Democrat claims waiting for new leadership will give the county's highway department time to better research where to place the cameras and work with local municipalities.

What will the wait accomplish? The Daily Herald spoke with the three candidates for Cook County Board president and asked them about their stances on the controversial cameras that flag motorists for running through red lights.

Republican hopeful Roger Keats said he opposes red-light cameras and supports communities like Schaumburg, where the village board has drafted an ordinance prohibiting the cameras without the village's consent.

"They have nothing to do with safety, it's nothing but a tax increase," Keats said.

He went on to say Cook County doesn't need another revenue stream, and instead should focus on managing with the money it currently receives.

County officials estimate cameras will bring in at least $2 million per year.

Democrat Toni Preckwinkle said she supports Suffredin's motion. However, she said she needs to see more safety research before judging the effect of cameras. She also supports giving the suburbs a portion of any revenue the cameras generate.

"We have a bunch of red-light cameras in the city of Chicago," Preckwinkle said. "I'm not sure if we've done any studies on the impact of lessening accidents, but know they are a revenue-maker for the city."

There's been at least one study focused on Chicago's cameras. The study, by a University of Illinois at Chicago professor, claimed cameras increased accidents.

But there's also studies that show the system improves safety. Most police departments encourage the systems.

Green Party candidate Tom Tresser also opposes the cameras. Like Keats, he believes the cameras are simply a revenue-maker for the county. He supports Suffredin's measure to delay their installation.

He added the cameras make him feel uneasy, like the government is overstepping its bounds with surveillance, and empathized with the local governments.

"They have the right to react. Remember with the sales tax that was pushed a couple years ago?" he said. "Palatine warned to secede. There's so much anger in the different parts of the county with how corrupt they are."

Local officials reacted angrily last week when county board members approved plans for 20 red-light cameras at county-controlled intersections in the suburbs. They say the county highway department failed to contact local officials before they went public with the potential locations for the cameras, and believe the county is overstepping its bounds installing unwanted cameras in their communities.

Suffredin supports the cameras - at least with the idea of leaving them on a temporary basis for research purposes, as the county says it plans.

But he and other county commissioners, including Republican Timothy Schneider from Bartlett, said they believed the highway department had spoken with local officials when the board approved cameras.

Schneider voted against the cameras and is proposing a measure giving municipalities the ability to opt out if they don't want them. Commissioner Gregg Goslin of Glenview is co-sponsoring the amendment.