With a federal corruption probe burrowing deeper into Springfield, the Illinois General Assembly has only one choice when it comes to the future of a red-light camera industry that has infected nearly 100 communities statewide: shut it down.
Traffic cameras collected more than $1 billion from drivers since 2008, but corruption probes are prompting state comptroller to stop acting as ticket collection agency.
Chicago has more red-light cameras and revenue from them than any other large city in America. The cameras are costly for drivers, create government mistrust and foster corruption.
At least five local governments in Illinois still contract with Redflex, the infamous red-light camera company at the center of one of Chicago’s most expensive corruption scandals.
In January several instances of corruption, influence peddling and mismanagement across Illinois were brought to light, from the College of DuPage’s expense-account mismanagement, to Chicago’s red-light-camera bribery case.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.