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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Current law authorizes the use of cameras at red
3lights in the counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, Madison,
4McHenry, St. Clair, and Will and the municipalities located
5within those counties; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Redflex Traffic Systems Inc., an Australian
7company, is the international manufacturer of "red light"
8cameras; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Redflex operates red light cameras in 38 Illinois
10municipalities; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Redflex operates 384 red light cameras in the City
12of Chicago alone; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Red light cameras have generated more than $300
14million in revenue for the City of Chicago since 2003; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Redflex has collected more than $100 million in
16revenue from its contract with the City of Chicago; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In late 2010, Redflex executives were implicated
18in a bribery scandal in Chicago; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Following up on a letter from a whistleblower, the
2Chicago Tribune reported that a Redflex "consultant" had been
3making improper payments to a City of Chicago transportation
4official who was responsible for overseeing the awarding of
5contracts for the installation and operation of Chicago's
6widely-criticized red light camera system; and
 
7    WHEREAS, An investigation by the City of Chicago, delivered
8to the Redflex board in February of 2013, found that Redflex
9paid $2.03 million in potential bribes to city officials; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The investigation found that Redflex's president
11had knowledge of the arrangement and had lied to Chicago's
12administration about the extent of the wrongdoing; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Chicago Tribune is proclaiming that the
14Redflex bribery scandal "would rank among the largest in the
15annals of Chicago corruption"; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Inspector General Joseph Ferguson has stated that
17the Inspector General's Office has "found a lack of basic
18record keeping and an alarming lack of analysis for an ongoing
19program that costs tens of millions of dollars a year and
20generates tens of millions more in revenue"; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Courts in several states, including Ohio and

 

 

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1Minnesota, have ruled that red light cameras are an
2unconstitutional violation of due process; and
 
3    WHEREAS, A federal judge ruled that the City of Minneapolis
4must pay $2.6 million dollars in restitution to anyone who
5received a red light camera citation, due to the
6unconstitutionality of red light cameras; and
 
7    WHEREAS, There exists public backlash over the use of red
8light cameras, due to the blatant revenue grab involved in
9using these cameras despite the presence of constitutional
10issues; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL
12ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we strongly urge any
13municipality operating the unconstitutional red light cameras
14to remove them immediately; and be it further
 
15    RESOLVED, That we urge the Securities and Exchange
16Commission, the Illinois Attorney General, the United States
17Attorney of the Northern District of Illinois, and the States
18Attorneys of Cook, Lake, Kane, St. Clair, Madison, and McHenry
19Counties to conduct similar investigations into the misconduct
20of Redflex; suitable copies of this resolution are to be
21delivered to these entities; and be it further
 

 

 

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1    RESOLVED, That, in the interest of justice, we strongly
2urge all relevant entities to void all tickets issued in
3Chicago, the surrounding collar counties, and Madison and St.
4Clair counties ab initio due to criminal activity and issue
5refunds for the fines to the citizens who paid them.