If there’s anything in Illinois with a lower approval rating than state government, it could be red-light cameras: those big-brother tattle-tales that catch drivers in the act of running a red light at intersections.
State Rep. David McSweeney, R-Barrington Hills, has reintroduced legislation that would ban them across the state. He says financially strapped cities and towns should be cutting spending, not using traffic violations to collect more money.
“And it’s a dishonest way because they’re trying to, in a lot of cases, pretend like this is about safety, when it’s about additional revenue,” McSweeney said.
In 2005, the Federal Highway Administration found the cameras provide no benefit to road safety. Other studies say they increase rear-end collisions.
