Chicago drivers may soon have a better idea of where the money they spend on speeding and red-light tickets is going, based on the recommendations of a new report on the city's traffic enforcement program.
We've heard the criticisms of the city's speed and red light camera program: "They're more of a money grab by the city," said one driver we talked to last month.
And so have Chicago aldermen.
"We know that cameras reduce crashes," said Wicker Park alderman Daniel LaSpata (1st Ward). "We also know that's not the perception."
He took the wraps off a new report on the city's speed camera enforcement program during Monday's meeting of the City Council Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee. The report recommends, among other things, that the city spells out exactly where traffic fines go, makes it easier to look up how many tickets a specific camera generates, and creates more payment plans for people who struggle to pay tickets.
City comptroller Michael Belsky says the Administration's concerned about that too.
"When you're choosing between paying (tickets) and eating ... that's a problem," said Belsky, who says the Johnson Administration shares the committee's interest in safety, equity and transparency.
Council members will now go over the report -- and changes may be coming down the road soon.