(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Some candidates for mayor are blasting incumbent Lori Lightfoot over a published report suggesting her drivers are racking up speed-camera tickets — with no one paying the fines — at a time when Lightfoot has held fast on stricter enforcement.
In the past 14 months, police-driven SUVs that shuttle Lightfoot across Chicago have been hit with three speed-camera tickets and two warnings, the public safety and crime website CWBChicago reported this week.
One of the mayor’s drivers also was dinged with a ticket for running past a red light, the report said.
None of the tickets reportedly have been paid.
“There are also outstanding speed and red light tickets on two SUVs that used to be assigned to Lightfoot’s security team, according to city records,” the article continued. “Records show one of those SUVs is now eligible to be booted and impounded due to a lack of payment.”
Last week, a majority of aldermen sided with Lightfoot to keep the current threshold under which drivers receive speed-camera tickets — if they go 6 mph or more over the posted limit. Some council members had sought to roll it back to the less-strict standard of 10 mph over the limit. They call Lightfoot's standard more about cash than safety.
Some of Lightfoot’s opponents in the mayoral race say the CWBChicago report shows Lightfoot is being hypocritical.
In a lengthy statement provided to the outlet, the Lightfoot administration said the tickets in question had not been sorted out through a review process. The statement noted that the two vehicles in the mayor’s transportation detail must stay in formation to keep the mayor safe. But Lightfoot, the statement noted, has told drivers that running red lights is “never acceptable.”
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