Chicagoans logged 1 speed camera ticket every 48 seconds in 2025
The addition of 50 new cameras reversed three years of declining tickets and boosted revenue by $4.6 million

CHICAGO (Sept. 16, 2026) – In the six months since Chicago installed 50 new speed cameras, the city flagged enough drivers to reverse three consecutive years of declining revenue from the tickets.

Chicago collected $64.2 million from 653,315 speed camera tickets in 2025, according to a new analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute. That’s an increase of 25.7% over 2024 and represents about 1 ticket every 48 seconds.

Chicago’s speed camera breakdown:

• A majority of the 2025 revenue — $43.2 million, or 67% — came from tickets for drivers traveling 6 to 10 mph over the limit.
• $21.1 million came from drivers traveling at least 11 mph over.
• The city projected 50 new cameras would generate an additional $11.4 million in 2025.
• In 2025, revenue increased only $4.6 million from 2024.

“The city shouldn’t count on people breaking the law to bring in more revenue. The budget should be built around sustainable revenue, not fluctuating ticket numbers,” said Bryce Hill, senior director of fiscal and economic research for the Illinois Policy Institute.“If speed cameras make streets safer, fewer tickets should be a success, not a budget problem.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson campaigned on phasing out speed cameras yet has since reversed course.

Since 2016, Chicago has raked in over $630 million, sending 4,291,318 tickets to motorists.

A 2022 study from University of Illinois-Chicago researchers found “little relationship between the number of tickets issued and the safety impact of cameras.”

To read more about Chicago’s speed cameras, visit illin.is/48-sec.

For bookings or interviews, contact media@illinoispolicy.org or (312) 607-4977.