Government reliance on fines and fees hurts everyone

A few months ago, my staff and I visited 61 Chicago Housing Authority senior buildings to assist the residents financially. During one of the visits, my team and I parked in front of a senior building with six or seven cars traveling with me. When we came out of the building, I had a ticket on my car.

I immediately paid the ticket but was left wondering: Why was my car the only one to be fined?

For a person like me, paying a $100 ticket is an inconvenience, but if you are one of the 65% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck, this could cause an enormous financial strain. 

When Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced his 2024 budget, “he noted the city had for too long balanced such spending plans on the backs of working people and vowed to end the practice,” the Tribune reported in November. Johnson as a mayoral candidate promised during a debate that he would phase out speed cameras if the law allows. The mayor called red-light and speed cameras an “easy revenue grab by the city, and they’re horribly unfair.” However, his 2024 budget relies on $348 million in fines and fees from parking tickets, red-light and speed camera fines, booting fees and other infractions.

The fines and fees levied by the city of Chicago and other municipalities are really regressive taxes that hurt all communities. They are the kind of penalties that drive citizens into financial hardship or bankruptcy or, worse, they compel people to leave Chicago and the state.

Last year, in south suburban Dolton, hundreds of people lined up to pay tickets they didn’t know they had, according to WBBM-Ch. 2 news. They were told the fines would double if payment was not received immediately. Elizabeth Watson, a senior citizen, lamented to CBS: “I’m a senior citizen, you know, on a fixed income. It’s ridiculous.”

Several states have banned red-light cameras, including Maine, Montana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Wisconsin and West Virginia. How are those states able to balance their budgets without reliance on red-light or speed camera revenue? Are their leaders more astute than ours in Illinois?

Illinois should look to close budget deficits by making wise decisions and growing the tax base. The city of Chicago and state of Illinois have spent more than $300 million on migrants. Those resources could have been used to stabilize communities experiencing high unemployment, crime, taxes and inflation. Prioritizing struggling communities with jobs, trade schools, union certification, education and other opportunities could expand the tax base and reduce government reliance on fines and fees. Unfortunately, red-light and speed cameras have become one of the city’s most addictive sources of income.

According to a recent Illinois Policy Institute analysis, Chicago speed cameras generated more than $102 million from fining drivers last year. The institute’s report suggests a majority of the fines collected were from late fees: Last year, “speed cameras collected $46.9 million from fines paid on time and an additional $55.4 million from speeding tickets that included a late fee.” The report noted residents on the city’s North Side received 44% of all tickets issued citywide. The West Side ranked No. 2, at 26%.  

Chicago has the most expensive parking meters in the United States and pricey parking ticket violations. The president and CEO of the Illinois Policy Institute wrote in the Daily Herald this month that Illinois cities pocketed more than $500 million in red-light camera ticket revenue from 2019 to 2023.

The fines and fees from red-light and speed camera enforcement are a regressive tax. Most studies suggest these cameras have a negligible impact on safety. We must move away from this type of taxation.