Chicago speed cameras ticket drivers every 48 seconds
The city added 50 cameras and tickets jumped almost 36%, but the additional revenue fell short of the city’s projection, illustrating the flaw in relying on such revenue to help balance the budget.
Despite campaigning against them in 2023, Mayor Brandon Johnson added 50 speed cameras in Chicago last year.
That led to a nearly 26% increase in tickets but still didn’t generate as much additional revenue as the city estimated, highlighting the problem with relying on unpredictable sources to balance the budget.
Last year Chicago issued 529,529 tickets to drivers for traveling 6 to 10 mph over the speed limit, up from 424,754 in 2024. That’s an increase of 24.6%.
Tickets for those driving at least 11 mph over the limit increased even faster, rising 30% from 94,906 in 2024 to 123,786 in 2025.
Chicago speed camera revenue rose last year to $64.2 million, up from $59.6 million in 2024. But the rise was significantly less than the Johnson administration’s projected increase of $11.4 million (and an installation cost of about $2.6 million.)
Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot lowered the threshold for Chicago speed camera tickets in 2021, issuing $35 tickets to drivers traveling 6 to 10 mph over the speed limit. Tickets of $100 for drivers traveling 11 mph or more over the limit have been in place since the camera program started in 2013.
The 6 to 10 mph violations have since become the largest source of speed camera revenue.
Tickets for traveling 6 to 10 mph over the speed limit generated $43.2 million in 2025. Those for traveling 11 mph or more over the limit brought in $21.1 million.
That’s after Johnson said in 2023 when he was campaigning for mayor that the lowered speed for a ticket was a “cash grab” and saying in a debate with opponent Paul Vallas that he would phase out the cameras if it didn’t violate the Constitution.
Relying on speed cameras for revenue can conflict with their stated purpose: improving traffic safety.
University of Illinois Chicago researchers found there was “little relationship between the number of tickets issued and the safety impact of cameras.”
The city’s reliance on unpredictable funds has created a revenue problem. Chicago speed camera revenue dropped about $26 million from 2022 to 2024 before increasing in 2025, illustrating the volatility of the collections.
Chicago already faces persistent budget challenges following an age-old Chicago tradition of balancing budget by nickel-and-diming residents. Doing so with speed cameras is poor policy.