Nearly half of Chicago red-light camera revenue came from late penalties
The city collected $47.1 million from red-light camera fines in 2025

CHICAGO (Oct. 5, 2026) – Almost half of Chicago’s revenue from its unpopular red-light cameras last year came from late penalties on unpaid tickets. A red-light camera violation carries a $100 fine and then an extra $100 penalty if it is not paid on time.

Chicago collected $47.1 million from 534,385 red-light camera tickets in 2025, with almost half the revenue coming from late penalties, according to a new analysis from the Illinois Policy Institute. The city collected $22.3 million, or 47%, of the total, from the ensuing late penalties.

How Chicago’s red-light camera revenue breaks down:

• Initial fine revenue declined 29% from 2016 to 2025, while late-penalty revenue declined just 1.5%.
• Total collections fell nearly $12 million from $58.8 million in 2023 to $47.1 million in 2025.
• Chicago has issued nearly 6.4 million red-light camera tickets from Jan. 1, 2016, through July 31, 2026, generating $573.5 million.
• Chicago has not added a red-light camera since February 2018.

“Chicago shouldn’t rely on residents getting tickets and then failing to pay them on time as a source of revenue,” said Lilly Rossi, a policy analyst for the Illinois Policy Institute. “If red-light cameras are about keeping Chicagoans safe, declining ticket revenue should be a sign of success, not a budget problem.”

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

Meanwhile, Chicago expanded its speed-camera program by 50 cameras in 2025. Speed-camera revenue increased from $59.6 million to $64.2 million, falling short of the Johnson administration’s projected $11.4 million increase.

To read more about Chicago’s red-light cameras, visit illin.is/late-fee.

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