Red Light Camera Obscura

If you are like your LakeCountyEye, you are spending the holiday weekend stuck in a traffic backup at some blinkin' red light. And thumbing down the RSS news feed on the BlackBerry.

Haha, if you hate red light cameras, someone has taken that cause all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court. According to the Daily Herald ...

Attorneys for drivers who got red-light tickets in Chicago told the Illinois Supreme Court today the state law that allows for the traffic cameras in the suburbs is unconstitutional.
Attorney: Red-light cameras "nakedly" unconstitutional

The Court has not ruled yet. But Lake County municipalities are already preparing for a worst-case scenario: what to do with all the cashiered red light cameras if they get ruled unconstitutional. Your LakeCountyEye has been told that opinions are divided. At least 10 ways to repurpose that decommissioned red light camera are under consideration:

Ten Alternative Uses for a Lake County Red Light Camera

Free LCDOT selfies! Souvenir for the Dan Duffy trophy wall. Photograph Route 53 Extension toll runners. Rejigger them into Automated Speed Cameras. Tape Island Lake board meetings. Record a Lake County Best Day of My Life video. Live backyard chicken nest cam. Log actionable evidence against those slow moving CN trains. Nab card counters at the Waukegan casino. Boat anchor.

Hopefully the Illinois Supreme Court will rule soon. Your LakeCountyEye is waiting for the green light to blow off that red light.

Kickback and Relax

If February had 31 days then opponents of Red Light Cameras would still be having a red letter day this month. On Feb 21 the Chicago Tribune exposed a secret kickback deal behind the City of Chicago's red light camera concession:

Ex-Redflex manager tells of secret meeting before firm got city business

And on Feb 17 a red-light camera vendor spoke at a Waukegan City Council committee meeting, where K-bombs -- kickback -- were dropped into the public record. The vendor was stressing the safety benefits of the cameras, when, according to the News-Sun ...

Mike Lebert from RedSpeed Illinois — the Lombard-based operator of Waukegan's four camera-equipped intersections — said he believes local drivers have adapted into a safer driving mode with the equipment in place. "It's very similar, in my opinion, to when we decided that we were going to make seat belts mandatory in Illinois," Lebert said. "We had significant kickback on that, (but) it did change driver behavior. We went from 50 percent of people wearing their seat belts to 98 percent. I liken the two in much the same way, in the kickback from the tickets being better enforced," he added.
Deadline for city to renew red-light camera contract nears

Your LakeCountyEye observes that committee members declined to probe further into the nature of the aforementioned kickbacks.  Nuff said!

Seeing Red

How many put off their holiday shopping to the last minute? Your LakeCountyEye is no exception. However that last minute has ticked down to the last few seconds. The roads are no more crowded than usual, but this year there are red light cameras at every intersection all the way to the Dollar General. It should be no surprise to learn that your LakeCountyEye is texting this post while sitting at a red light.

Rudolph's red nose saved Christmas one year -- but that was before Santa had to match wits with the ubiquitous red light camera. The Daily Herald did a series earlier this year examining the sleazy confluence of corporate profit, traffic regulation and municipal revenue ...

Red-light camera company more than just a vendor

The winners are the municipalities that collect the fines. Plus contractors like RedSpeed Illinois who get their a percentage. Other winners would be the auto & health insurance providers -- fewer accident claims. Losers are, well everyone knows who loses here. Some groups have organized to fight back, like ...

BanRedCams.com

Your LakeCountyEye, a proponent of peace on earth & good-will to men, believes it is better to get even than get mad. Here are 10 holiday suggestions on how to beat those furshlugginer red light cameras:

1. Take the EL.


2. Drive through in reverse.
   YouTube


3. Give the wheel to Willard Helander.
   Speeding ticket not the first for Helander


4. Heelys!


5. 1. Buy shares of RedSpeed.
   2. Blow a few red lights.
   3. Pay the fines.
   4. Sell the stock.
   5. Retire early.


6. Two words: Warp Drive


7. Red light cams are unconstitutional: Send your citations to Dan Duffy.
   Lawmakers reject speed cams in school, hospital zones


8. No one wants a police state: Send your citations to Mark Curran.
   Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran Adds Support to Effort to BanRedCams


9. All else fails: Send your citations to Terry Link.
   Proposed law would impose $100 fines on speed-camera evidence


10. Just stop at the light, A.J.

Green light, gotta run, big sale on Dippy Birds!