By Micky Horstman

July 10, 2024

White flash. Orange envelope. Groan. Repeat.

The quintessential cycle of getting a speed camera ticket in Chicago.

In 2023, this cycle raked in $102 million for the city as one speed camera ticket was issued every 20 seconds.

Ever since former Mayor Lori Lightfoot reduced the ticketing threshold to speeding 6 mph over the limit from 10 mph in 2021, Chicago’s 169 automatic speed cameras have become increasingly predatory towards drivers. And there seems to be no stopping them.

On the campaign trail, Mayor Brandon Johnson pledged to “phase out” the cameras and reduce the citywide speed limit as an alternative.

But Johnson’s campaign promises were meant to be broken. He doesn’t seem to be weaning the city off speed cameras any time soon. When there’s profit on the line, Chicago is addicted to automated enforcement. In fact, the mayor’s going to rely on it more. Drivers beware.

Johnson’s 2024 budget banks on residents being issued $348 million in fines and fees from parking, speed camera, red-light camera and other traffic tickets. That’s $46 million more than he budgeted last year. Relying on fines to fill a budget hole is not only fiscally irresponsible, it’s immoral.

And holes there are. The city faces a $52 billion shortfall in pension debt, while Chicago Public Schools is looking at a $391 million budget gap and the Chicago Transit Authority is facing a $576 million deficit in 2026.

Instead of working to address these problems, such as by removing the wildly unpopular CTA head Dorval Carter, Johnson has been too busy trying to close magnet schools and directing $32 million in federal pandemic aid towards restarting a guaranteed income pilot program for 5,000 families.

We have a city whose leaders prioritize political whims, pet projects and nickel-and-diming tactics over financial prudency.

To make matters worse, the city is toying with fining people just for driving – not even over the speed limit.

The Chicago City Council Office of Financial Assistance has recommended adding a New York City-inspired “congestion tax” to pad its budgets, which would  automatically charge drivers in high-traffic areas. COFA’s “congestion pricing” model might include the addition of new priced lanes, a toll on non-carpool vehicles using high-occupancy lanes or a fee to enter congested areas.

Aldermen, such as Ald. Andre Vasquez, 40th, also already support a congestion tax, claiming it could generate new revenue for street repairs from suburban drivers. Imagine being taxed for the pleasure of being stuck in traffic.

With so many budget holes to fill, it’s no surprise Chicago can’t stop milking its cash cows. Even when it hurts people who leaders claim to want to help.

Automated speed and red-light cameras disproportionately affect minority and low-income communities. Even Lightfoot admitted that.

In 2023, over half the speed camera revenue came from tickets accompanied by late fees. These tacked-on fees have been linked to bankruptcy and long-lasting ticket debt for Chicago’s Black and low-income communities. Three of the five cameras that generated over $2 million in revenue for the city were located on the South Side – issuing over 138,000 tickets combined. Chicago collects the highest fines from people who can least afford it.

Those people include Ingrid Walker, 64, who’s on a fixed income of about $800 a month. Walker had never received a speeding ticket until she found herself trapped in the speed camera cycle.

She received two speed camera tickets at the same intersection, and by the time she figured out how to pay the city, she incurred a late fee, doubling the fine.

“It felt more like a punch in the face than a slap on the hand.”

While the city claimed during their implementation that speed cameras were for safety, when University of Illinois-Chicago researchers investigated, they concluded “there was little relationship between the number of tickets issued and the safety impact of cameras.” Other research has shown safety at intersections with automatic camera enforcement is mixed at best.

It’s no coincidence Johnson and City Hall recently floated a citywide initiative to lower the speed limit to 25 from 30 mph. This would undoubtedly spur more speed camera tickets, which would make the city more money – but not any safer.

If city leaders wanted to focus on safety, they could implement effective, non-punitive speed reduction strategies such as traffic circles, speed bumps or “your speed is” signs. That could allow city leaders to eliminate the speed cameras, just like Johnson promised he’d do on the campaign trail.

At the very least, the city should void the mistakes of the Lightfoot administration and rework their speed camera ticketing policies. The city can do better than allowing robo-cops to indiscriminately prey on Chicagoans and the city’s visitors. But perhaps that’s wishful thinking for Chicago politicians.

Unless they find another way to line their pockets and “balance” their budgets, the city will keep taking from those least able to afford it.

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Micky Horstman is the communications associate for the Illinois Policy Institute and a contributor to Young Voices. He can be reached at mhorstman@illinoispolicy.org.