Chicago’s Speed Cameras Issue Tickets Every 11 Seconds After Tweak

The more I read about speed (or red light) cameras, the happier I am that we're not dealing with them here in the Rockford area.

I hope it stays that way, too. However, when you look at the cash windfall the city of Chicago is grabbing up with theirs, you can see why it might be looked at as an option here.

Since An Adjustment To Ticket Policy, Chicago Is Raining Tickets Like Never Before

As IllinoisPolicy.org reports, Chicago's city speed cameras issued 2.3 million tickets through late October of last year, nailing Chicago's drivers with nearly as many speed camera violations in 10 months as the city issued in 2018, 2019 and 2020 combined.

The tweak came on March 1st, 2021, the start of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s new policy to ticket drivers going 6 mph over the limit. Before that, tickets were issued at a 10-miles over the limit threshold.

6-10 MPH Over The Limit Is A $35 Fine, While 11-Plus MPH Over Is A $100 Fine

How's this for a total for the first 10 months of 2021: $73.8 million in speed camera fines. So, doing the rudimentary math, Chicago made about $30 million more than it had in each of the prior three years---in 10 months.

IllinoisPolicy.org:

And while there are 160 speed cameras in Chicago – the only Illinois city to use them – some of the cameras are golden. Nineteen speed cameras each generated more than a $1 million for the city by the end of October. Three of those cameras generated more than $2 million and one topped $3 million. Each camera averaged $460,976 in fines through the end of October, an increase of $213,631 per camera from 2019.