Hearings To Put Red Light Cameras Under The Microscope

It looks like the Chicago City Counsel is moving forward with investigating the Chicago Red Light Cameras. The Expired Meter wrote a great post about it.

Please reach out to the Chicago City Counsel to thank them for investigating this and let them know how you feel about the Chicago Red Light cameras.  It would be great if we could get rid of the Chicago Red Light Cameras and the speed cameras.

You can use this City of Chicago website to see the list of Alderman by ward.

If you don't know which ward you are in, you can enter your address into this City of Chicago webapp and it will tell you your ward number.

Thank you Republican Ward Committeeman Scott Davis

If you live in Chicago, I advise you to contact your local representative and encourage them to stand with Scott Davis.  Also please send Scott a thank you email or call.  We need more representatives like Scott.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/124902411/NEWS-RELEASE-Republican-Calls-for-Repeal-of-Chicago-Speed-Camera-Ordinance

Committeeman Scott Davis, Chicago Republican Party
773-857-1424
scott@44thWardRepublicans.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, February 11, 2013

*** NEWS RELEASE*** ** 

Republican Calls for Repeal of Chicago Speed Camera Ordinance**
Chicago Cams all about Contracts, Corruption and Corporatism… NOT SAFETY!

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Republican Ward Committeeman Scott Davis of Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood is callingon Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago City Council to repeal the Chicago Speed Camera ordinance in light of therecent story of corporate and city corruption that led to the cancelling of the city’s red-light camera contract withAustralian photo enforcement company Redflex.

“The Redflex disaster PROVES these cameras are NOT about safety, they are about revenue for a city struggling to livewithin its means, corporate profits for well-connected vendors and under the table payoffs to corrupt city officials” Davissaid.

“There is still time for the City Council and the Mayor to do the right thing and end this nightmare by repealing the recentordinance to install speed cameras throughout Chicago. These Cameras are unsafe, unwanted and unconstitutional” Davissaid. The Chicago City Council passed the Chicago Speed Camera ordinance on April 18 th , 2012 by a vote of 33-14,despite public opposition to the plan. Alderman Tom Tunney of the 44 th Ward voted YES on the ordinance. Local pollingsince that vote showed that 54% of Chicago residents opposed speed cameras with 69% saying the cameras were aboutmoney, not safety. ( Chicago Tribune| Secter, May 25th, 2012 )

“Chicago’s Red-light Camera story proves that photo enforcement is not about safety it is about hundreds of millions of dollars being picked from the pockets of everyday citizens to line corporate coffers and grease the wheels of corruptionChicago’s machine style political culture is notorious for” Davis said. A recent news story claims the city Inspector General is investigating the payment of $570,000 in sales commissions to a Redflex employee who furnished a cityofficial responsible for managing the contract with lavish gifts, including a ticket to the Super Bowl. (Chicago Tribune|Kidwell, February 8, 2013 )

“Taking $100 bills out of the pockets of poor and middle class residents does not protect children in these difficulteconomic times” Davis said. “That kind of money is food on the table for most families.” The cost of a Red Light Cameraticket is $100. Speed Camera fines will cost $35 for going 6-10 mph over the limit and $100 for exceeding the limit by 11mph or more. (Expired Meter|Brockway, April 11, 2012)

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www.44thWardRepublicans.com

Official At Company That Holds Chicago's Red Light Camera Contract Resigns

It just keeps getting better for Redflex.  According to Chicagoist, their chairman who holds the contract to Chicago's traffic camera network resigned.

Welcome to Chicago: Where even the red light cameras are rooted in corruption and the effects are felt halfway across the globe. The Tribune reports the chairman of the Australian parent company that holds the contract to the city’s traffic camera network has resigned amid ongoing investigations into corruption involving the contract.

Maxwell Findlay resigned as chairman of Redflex Holdings Ltd. Feb. 6. Redflex Holdings is the parent company of Redflex Traffic Systems, which had their hold on the red light camera contract extended by six months so Chicago Inspector General Joseph Ferguson could complete his investigation into the company paying a $910 hotel tab for Chicago Department of Transportation official John Bills in 2010 and didn’t report it to the Chicago Board of Ethics until the Tribune first reported it last October. Redflex also awarded a contract to a friend of Bills.

Redflex was considered a favorite to win the contract for the city’s speeding camera program before the news of their relationship with Bills broke. Redflex Holdings also announced for the first time it was cooperating with law enforcement authorities and an internal investigation revealed Redflex Traffic Systems did more than pay a hotel bill for Bills.

The internal probe found that company executives systematically courted former city transportation official John Bills with thousands of dollars in free trips to the Super Bowl and other sporting events, sources familiar with the investigation told the Tribune. The company also hid the extent of the improper relationship from City Hall after the newspaper's reporting last year forced Redflex to partially reveal its ties to Bills, sources said.

The internal probe and a parallel investigation by city Inspector General Joseph Ferguson are also raising more questions about the company's hiring of a longtime Bills friend who received more than $570,000 in company commissions as a customer service representative in Chicago, the sources said.

Bills did not return calls, but has adamantly denied any wrongdoing. "I would never have intentionally accepted a dime from Redflex, I wouldn't do that," he told the Tribune in October.

Redflex Holdings CEO Robert DeVincenzi told the Tribune in a statement he “will do everything in my power to regain the trust of the Chicago community.”News of Finlay’s resignation and the internal investigation led to trading of Redflex’s stock being suspended by the Australian Securities exchange. Ian Davis, another Redflex board member named in the 2010 memo that first detailed the company’s courting of Bills, also resigned.

Hard to Put Red-Light Violations Under a Lens

An interesting article from today's Wall Street Journal, Hard to Put Red-Light Violations Under a Lens.

Nothing new here, some data shows the number of accidents increase at Red Light Camera intersections because of people slamming on the brakes to avoid a ticket, but the cost of those accidents is less than typically accidents resulting from someone running a red light.

Here's a novel idea though, why not lengthen the yellow light time?  As the article states, this lessens the number of people running a red light and gives people more time to brake before the light turns red.  This would reduce red light accidents, but then the city wouldn't be able to generate their millions in revenue from people who do rolling stops when they are turning on red.