Cash Grab Tickets
Our friends over at The Contrarian notice something that the rest of the media ignored during the election:
With little fanfare, the Chicago City Council took a break last week from attempting to ban gas stoves, bravely denouncing hate speech, and other empty virtue signaling, and voted on October 30 to reduce the citywide speed limit from 30 to 25 mph. Despite the huge impact this ordinance will have on Chicago residents, it has received surprisingly little press coverage. Perhaps the Chicago media were more focused on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed $300 million property tax increase, or his appointment of disbarred anti-Semitic attorney Reverend Mitchell Johnson as president of the Chicago Board of Education (disbarred for taking money from his client).
The ordinance takes effect on January 1, 2026.
We (and many others) rightly called this a cash grab, despite stringent denials from City Hall and Conehead. But The Contrarian points out how a simple reduction in speeding fines would potentially generate tens-of-millions, if not a hundred-plus-million in short order.
Go read it all and be amazed at efforts to alter your fine based on your income tax return.
And then go read this article from the Illinois Policy people about ticket inequity:
- Red-light cameras on Chicago’s South Side issued the most tickets per intersection during the 12 months through September, more than 2.5 times as many as red-light monitored intersections on the North Side.
- Red-light cameras on the South Side issued an average 9,132 tickets between October last year and September 2024, or 5,521 more tickets than each camera on the North Side.
Despite the high volume of tickets per intersection on the South Side, drivers on the North Side were issued nearly 100,000 more tickets worth nearly $10 million more than the South Side fines.
North Side drivers were issued more than $16.2 million in red-light tickets. The North Side has 45 of the city’s 150 red-light monitored intersections, while the South Side has seven.
West Side drivers incurred the next most tickets, with red-light cameras at 33 monitored intersections issuing nearly $14.2 million in fines.
We're going to guess the West Side has the lowest rate of paying though, as many plates aren't even registered to actual mailing addresses.
Labels: city politics, money questions
posted by SCC at 12:03 AM
34 Comments:
That's been a money grabber since day one.
Chicago is bad, Rosemont is worse.
They all suck.
Is this a misprint?
The ordinance takes effect on January 1, 2026.
Sooooo, we get a full year to feel good about Ourselves for lowering Emissions and avoiding serious auto crashes and then Everybody forgets about it and it gets repealed
I rip through that red light camera on Belmont / Knox all the time going to work these days. Tired of getting a $100 ticket for being 2mph over the speed limit. Tired of the tax paying neighborhoods being shaken down all the time it’s exploitation it’s theft when it isn’t equal across the board. That’s why I have phantom plate covers they work beautifully. Best $60 I ever spent.
North Side drivers were issued more than $16.2 million in red-light tickets. The North Side has 45 of the city’s 150 red-light monitored intersections, while the South Side has seven.
West Side drivers incurred the next most tickets, with red-light cameras at 33 monitored intersections issuing nearly $14.2 million in fines.
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I am not understanding the math. I count 85. Where are the rest, the 65?
The only people that pay these fines are the same people that pay for gas, electric and water. It's racist
If the ‘people’ are subjected to more traffic light violations and Red Light fines, it has nothing to do with their skin tone-it’s because they don’t know the Rules of the Road. They might know them to obtain a license (yeah, right), but they regularly disregard every traffic law knowing that their tickets will be dismissed in the name of ‘hardship, social justice or zip code poverty reform.’
It’s always like this. They do it in other ways too. I noticed on my street alone, they put up 6 additional no parking “from here” signs that eat up about two car lengths each- making a neighborhood with no parking already more deficient.
Guess people will now start zooming through the side streets and disregard all Stop signs.
I've always said that north siders do not drive as well as normal people.
They’re determined to make Shitcago completely unlivable.
Does not sound very diverse, equitable, or inclusive. Or is dei just an excuse to target white people? Did I miss that at seminar?
Let’s get Elon to cut the city budget if no one else in the city can do it
Those numbers look like crime statistics numbers reversed. No $ to be made on the south and west sides.
Thank god! This should stop all thosecdamn cars running from the police! I mean what kind of vehicle pursuits are you gonna have when ya can't go faster than 25 miles an hour?
I CANNOT wait to retire and MOVE Illinois!
This City and State is FUCKED UP and can't balance their budgets resulting in higher taxes!!!
Fines based on income is a fair way to deter traffic violations. In Europe they call it a day fine, and it based on income. Every violation has an hour penalty,. The idea, for example, is that running a red light has a penalty of one eight hours. You put in your hourly rate times eight, and that’s the fine. Someone making $10 and hour pays $80 bucks, while Musk pays, well a lot. But the punishment is the same and will have the same deterrent effect. You worked a day for free because you ran the light. I never gave a ticket to a poor person because the fines were so high. I wouldn’t want to be responsible for a low income parent having to explain why they couldn’t have milk on their cornflakes.
Why do I have the feeling this isn’t being done for safety reasons.
I was traveling eastbound on 103rd St at Talman Tuesday and watched that speed camera by St John Fisher flash10 times for each of those going over the limit! Be careful over there.
As I understood it as a teenager, stop signs are optional after 10 pm.
City Council didn’t pass this ordinance. It passed out of committee and then the sponsor tabled it the next day. Don’t expect it to come up again for awhile.
You said it. That's the goal...retribution for perceived wrongs.
How about just enforcing existing speed limit and reckless driving jaws especially on Lake Shire Drive ? The LSD speed limit is 45 mph - I drive 52NPH and cars , large SUVs and yes trucks ( once banned from LasD) fly by me zipping in and out of lanes like I m stopped .
There are constant crashes like the one here in Hyde Park where sone dumba$# were driving the wrong way at 2AM ! People were killed in this crash .
It s anarchy tyranny here in Chicago . Some Smokey the near park ranger wanted to write me a ticket for yes walking my bike through Millenium park !
J
Sounds to me like the city is broke and is desperately trying to raise some revenue...
Drive it like you stole it cuz on da sout and west side you probably did
With 25mph road rage will go through roof. I do speed limit now and always mother fucked. Get up to stop light and still ahead of these assholes. Retired CPD. Not good.
The media didn’t ignore it. It didn’t happen. What a weird thing to misreport. It passed committee but the full council didn’t vote on it.
Because all those guys posing with their money phones have an "hourly wage?"
Yes. Yes they did.
That seminar was in your ethics training
Cut down California and avoid the speed camera on103rd & Talman all together
Have any of you witnessed the driving habits on the Southside of the City? It's an extension of "The Ryan" aka "The Ghetto 500"
In Cali ] A Dem Super Sallyport[ beat cops only issue Revenue grabs to those that have means i.e. soccer moms, teachers, workers & Gov. mouse clickers. So 75% of the original dollars come from the Worker.
Take the worker like Musk $'s out of mix and Cop ticket writers or cameras are just waiting for Gov. printer to print more cash. Don't worry bout' Enthropy, Just get Hell to Pay.
Rules of the road for bicycle riders . Write every stop sign n red light camera violator . Money solved
Well I guess that all the drive-by's will be slower now and the bad guys will be easier to identify. This has to be a win-win for the citizens! Yeah, right
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