Syverson, Burzynski oppose expanded red-light camera monitoring

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 11, 2008/bc-kem

SPRINGFIELD, IL – A proposed new law to expand the use of red-light cameras at intersections is too intrusive and will hit drivers in the pocketbooks, say State Senators Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) and Brad Burzynski (R-Clare).

House Bill 5288, which passed an Illinois House committee last week, would allow authorities in several counties, including Winnebago and DeKalb, the ability to install cameras at intersections to capture images of drivers who run red lights.

"I think we need to think long and hard about expanding this type of monitoring," Syverson said. “These cameras have the potential to be abused in the name of so-called ‘public safety.’”

While some studies have shown inconsistent evidence that the installation of traffic cameras reduces accidents, the senators say what is consistent is that cities can rake in millions of dollars in revenue from their own citizens.

Both lawmakers noted how the bill does not allow citations resulting from red-light cameras to be recorded on the driving record of the vehicle’s owner.

“Let’s be honest about the motivations for cities that put these cameras on our streets,” Burzynski said. “It’s more about issuing citations and bringing in money than public safety.”

According to news reports, Chicago brought in $20 million in fines in 2006. And one camera in Bellwood issued 500 tickets in one month alone, meaning $50,000 in fines.

“The question is how pervasive we want this Big Brother technology to be,” Syverson said. “We don’t need cameras watching us constantly from intersection to intersection.”

Burzynski added that even the technology is unproven and cannot match the same judgment of a police officer on the scene.

“It seems very arbitrary to let someone at a desk look at still photographs of a scene and determine whether there’s been a violation or not,” Burzynski said.

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