Red-Light, Speed Camera Court Ruling Could Cost Chicago Hundreds Of Millions

A Cook County circuit court judge has found that Chicago officials violated motorists' constitutional rights when it issued tickets for running red lights and exceeding posted speed limits recorded on cameras operated by a private vendor. Chicago officials ignored requirements set out in the law allowing the use of cameras to issue red light and speeding violations to motorists, causing them to be denied their fundamental right to due process. Attorneys for the plaintiffs are now seeking class action status, which if successful, could force Chicago officials to return hundreds of millions of dollars it has collected to date in fines from the use of the cameras.

The statute in question required city officials to provide a second notice of violation to ticketed motorists before issuing a determination of liability against them. Notices given to motorists also failed to specify the make of the vehicle subject to the citation as required by the law. The notices even misstated the grace period that applied before late penalties would apply as 21 days instead of the 25 days provided for in the statute. Today's decision comes on the heels of the conviction of a former City Hall employee, who was accused of taking bribes from a red light vendor in exchange for the lucrative, exclusive contract to provide the cameras to the city. If class action status is granted to other motorists, Chicago's problems with balancing its budget have just gotten much more complicated.