Bill Text: IL SR0314 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Urges any municipality operating unconstitutional red light cameras to remove them immediately. Urges the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Illinois Attorney General, the United States Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois, and the States Attorneys of Cook, Lake, Kane, St. Clair, Madison, and McHenry Counties to conduct investigations into the misconduct of Redflex. Urges all relevant entities to void all tickets issued in Chicago, the surrounding collar counties, and Madison and St. Clair counties ab initio due to criminal activity and issue refunds for the fines to the citizens who paid them.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Failed) 2015-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR0314 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-SR0314-Introduced.html

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SR0314 LRB098 11488 GRL 46022 r
SENATE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Current law authorizes the use of cameras at red
lights in the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison,
McHenry, St. Clair, and Will and the municipalities located
within those counties; and
WHEREAS, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., an Australian
company, is the international manufacturer of "red light"
cameras; and
WHEREAS, Redflex operates red light cameras in 38 Illinois
municipalities; and
WHEREAS, Redflex operates 384 red light cameras in the City
of Chicago alone; and
WHEREAS, Red light cameras have generated more than $300
million in revenue for the City of Chicago since 2003; and
WHEREAS, Redflex has collected more than $100 million in
revenue from its contract with the City of Chicago; and
WHEREAS, In late 2010, Redflex executives were implicated
in a bribery scandal in Chicago; and

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WHEREAS, Following up on a letter from a whistleblower, the
Chicago Tribune reported that a Redflex "consultant" had been
making improper payments to a City of Chicago transportation
official who was responsible for overseeing the awarding of
contracts for the installation and operation of Chicago's
widely-criticized red light camera system; and
WHEREAS, An investigation by the City of Chicago, delivered
to the Redflex board in February of 2013, found that Redflex
paid $2.03 million in potential bribes to city officials; and
WHEREAS, The investigation found that Redflex's president
had knowledge of the arrangement and had lied to Chicago's
administration about the extent of the wrongdoing; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago Tribune is proclaiming that the
Redflex bribery scandal "would rank among the largest in the
annals of Chicago corruption"; and
WHEREAS, Inspector General Joseph Ferguson has stated that
the Inspector General's Office has "found a lack of basic
record keeping and an alarming lack of analysis for an ongoing
program that costs tens of millions of dollars a year and
generates tens of millions more in revenue"; and
WHEREAS, Courts in several states, including Ohio and

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Minnesota, have ruled that red light cameras are an
unconstitutional violation of due process; and
WHEREAS, A federal judge ruled that the City of Minneapolis
must pay $2.6 million dollars in restitution to anyone who
received a red light camera citation, due to the
unconstitutionality of red light cameras; and
WHEREAS, There exists public backlash over the use of red
light cameras, due to the blatant revenue grab involved in
using these cameras despite the presence of constitutional
issues; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly urge any
municipality operating the unconstitutional red light cameras
to remove them immediately; and be it further
RESOLVED, That we urge the Securities and Exchange
Commission, the Illinois Attorney General, the United States
Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois, and the States
Attorneys of Cook, Lake, Kane, St. Clair, Madison, and McHenry
Counties to conduct similar investigations into the misconduct
of Redflex; suitable copies of this resolution are to be
delivered to these entities; and be it further

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RESOLVED, That, in the interest of justice, we strongly
urge all relevant entities to void all tickets issued in
Chicago, the surrounding collar counties, and Madison and St.
Clair counties ab initio due to criminal activity and issue
refunds for the fines to the citizens who paid them.