Chicago City Wire

In 2024, Chicago's speed cameras issued $90.9 million in tickets, disproportionately affecting lower-income and minority families. The Southeast Side was particularly impacted, with an average of over 19,000 tickets and $646,000 in fines per camera.

The city asserts that the cameras aim to enhance safety, but research from the University of Illinois-Chicago indicates a "little relationship between the number of tickets issued and the safety impact of cameras."

Alderman Anthony Beale criticized Mayor Johnson's decision to add 50 new speed cameras as a revenue-driven move. "Mayor Johnson’s decision to add 50 new speed cameras is an obvious revenue grab. Chicago’s speed cameras have increasingly become about making the city money and not making the city safer," Beale stated.

Beale's 9th Ward includes one of the city's top revenue-generating cameras from 2024, which collected $2.1 million in fines. The leading camera nearby on the South Side accrued over $3 million.

"The ticketing process preys on residents struggling to pay their speed camera bill through additional fines and fees," Beale said. "Now, money earned from late fees accounts for most of the ticket money. It’s a broken system." He suggested that instead of increasing the number of cameras, the city council should reverse actions taken under former Mayor Lightfoot and restore a higher ticketing threshold.

Patrick Andriesen from the Illinois Policy Institute commented on declining annual revenues since changes to the ticketing threshold under Lightfoot's administration: “Speed camera annual revenue has been declining every year since former-Mayor Lightfoot changed the ticketing threshold. So, Chicago leaders are shifting the goalpost once again to make up for lost revenue.” He added that relying on such unstable sources harms low-income residents.

In 2024, there were 15 locations where each camera generated over $1 million for Chicago. The highest-grossing camera was located at 10540 S. Western Ave., generating more than $3 million in fines.

On June 1st, 16 new speed cameras began issuing tickets with another seven starting by June 15th and four more by June 30th. In total, this means that by month's end, drivers will face penalties from 27 out of a planned addition of 50 new cameras.

Significantly contributing to revenues were extra late fees and penalties which amounted to $54.2 million—more than half of all income generated by these devices due to doubled fines.

To learn more about Chicago’s speed cameras, visit illin.is/speedcams2024.