SR0314 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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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

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 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

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.