Chicago’s speed cameras issued $90.9 million in tickets and fees to drivers in 2024, down $11.3 million from 2023. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s is adding 50 new speed cameras to recover those fines, with 11 issuing tickets by the end of June.

Three years after Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot campaigned on a pledge to reduce fines and fees, the city issued over 1 million parking tickets in the first half of 2022 – a 25% bump from the same period a year earlier.

Chicago aldermen lacked the votes to repeal Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s lower speed camera ticketing threshold responsible for nearly $80 million in fines.

Chicago’s speed cameras issued 3.8 million tickets since Mayor Lori Lightfoot lowered the threshold before a citation is written. That is like everyone in Chicago getting 1.4 tickets in 16 months.

Chicago reported more traffic deaths in the first six months of 2022 than in any year since 2017, despite speed cameras issuing over 1 million tickets – as many tickets as Chicago has households. Two-thirds of the fines were for speeding 6-10 mph.

The Chicago City Council blocked a vote to repeal the lower speed camera ticket threshold, responsible for $59 million in tickets last year. Mayor Lori Lightfoot now has until July 20 to save a policy that issued more tickets than Chicago has residents.

Chicago aldermen were ready to repeal the lower speed camera tolerance that generated $59 million in fines last year, but the finance committee chairman called off the meeting. Mayor Lori Lightfoot will use the delay to ‘twist peoples’ arms’ and keep the threshold low and lucrative.

Two bills on Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk would spend $20 million to add license plate monitoring cameras to 6,600 miles of highways in 22 counties. Civil rights groups fret about abuse. Illinois State Police can’t say they increase safety.