Decision day is near for more than 1 million Chicagoans.
The Illinois Policy Institute said recently that at least 1.2 million motorists hit with red-light or speed camera tickets have until Dec. 11 to go to the city’s website to learn if they are eligible for a reprieve from the costly citations.
Citatiions can be searched on the parking and automated camera ticket page by license plate, ticket number, driver’s license, notice number or vehicle identification number. From there, motorists can input required information to submit their claim.
Payouts to those deemed to be deserving is slated to begin in August 2018.
Motorists who received tickets from late March 2010 to mid-May 2015 but did not respond to initial notices before being deemed liable could be eligible for refunds, the institute said.
Refunds will come from a $26.75 million fund stemming from the settlement of a $38.75 million class-action lawsuit against the city over enforcement practices. The lawsuit argued that city officials disregarded their own rules by neglecting to give second violation notices before issuing liability determinations.
Over a four-year period beginning in 2011, the red-light camera programs alone are estimated to have generated around $285 million for the city. The program has been such a source of revenue for the city that Chicago-area suburbs have now installed their own red-light cameras.
Several media outlets have reported that the venture has led to at least $170 million in added revenue for Chicago suburbs over the two-year period ending in 2016.
Three ticketed motorists and the red-light camera opposition group Abolish Red Light Cameras have filed suit against the suburb of Crestwood, seeking to toss out some 56,000 tickets based on red-light camera footage.
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