

Some Chicago aldermen have recently pushed back against Lightfoot’s more stringent speeding standards, calling on the mayor to raise the new threshold. Three of those cameras generated more than $2 million and one topped $3 million. Nineteen speed cameras each generated more than a $1 million for the city by the end of October. Each camera averaged $460,976 in fines through the end of October, an increase of $213,631 per camera from 2019.Īnd while there are 160 speed cameras in Chicago – the only Illinois city to use them – some of the cameras are golden. She also has drawn sharp criticism for appearing to renege on her promise to reform the city’s fines and fees program so they do not fall so heavily on needy residents to generate revenue under the guise of safety. Lightfoot pushed the lower limits as imperative to “keep communities safe,” but what they have done is to create a huge cash machine for a city constantly on the financial edge without demonstrating significant crash reductions.

#Chicago traffic drivers#
Drivers going 11 mph or more over the limit are fined $100. Lightfoot lowered the 10-mph threshold for issuing speed camera tickets, nailing motorists caught driving 6 to 10 mph over the limit with a $35 ticket in the mail.

Chicago averaged 1,178 speed camera tickets a day before March 1, and 9,596 a day after. “And the max ticket was allegedly 38 miles an hour.”Īn analysis of Chicago Department of Finance data found Ortiz’ fines coincided with a significant spike in city speed camera tickets immediately after Lightfoot’s stricter policy was imposed March 1. And of course, I didn’t know that until afterward when I got the notice for the two, I already received nine speeding tickets from the city.” “But there was one day where I went to go get coffee and I got a ticket on the way there and on the way back. “The last time I received a speeding ticket was 15 years ago.” “I’ve lived in Chicago for 13 years overall, starting in 2005, and I have never been pulled over by CPD or Illinois State Police for speeding,” Ortiz said. One time she was making what became a very expensive coffee run. Vanessa Ortiz was among the drivers caught under the new policy. So in 10 months, Chicago made about $30 million more than it had in each of the prior three years. Grand total for the first 10 months of 2021: $73.8 million in speed camera fines. Speed cameras churned out eight times as many tickets per day: $250,000 worth. The spike came March 1, the start of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s new policy to ticket drivers going 6 mph over the limit.Īnd the spike was big. The 8-fold spike came immediately after the city started ticketing at 6 mph over the limit.Ĭhicago speed cameras in 2021 sent out a ticket every 11 seconds, meaning that by the time you finish reading this article there will be 21 more drivers unaware they have a rude surprise coming in the mail.Ĭity speed cameras issued 2.3 million tickets through late October, slapping drivers with nearly as many speed camera violations in 10 months as the city issued in 2018, 20 combined. Chicago’s speed cameras ticket 8X faster after limit drops to 6 mphĬhicago’s speed cameras in 10 months churned out nearly as many tickets as the prior 3 years combined, handing every city household 2.2 tickets.
