Red Light Camera Fines Make Big Bucks for One Area Community

The small village of Lakemoor, which sits on the border of Lake and McHenry counties just east of McHenry, expects to bring in $1.8 million in revenue from red-light camera tickets this year, the Daily Herald reports.

That will account for 37 percent of the town’s revenue and is the largest single source of revenue for the village, bringing in more money than sales, property and income taxes combined, according to the newspaper.

A Daily Herald analysis found the town of 6,000 people has, by far, the most lucrative of 32 red-light camera programs in the suburbs.

The village has three cameras at the intersection of route 12 and 120 where 50,000 vehicles pass through each day, according to the article. To hit its revenue goal, village officials said it just needs to have 50 drivers get caught by the red light cameras and pay $100 in fines, according to the Daily Herald.

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While the village contends the cameras have made the intersection safer, the Daily Herald analysis found that crashes actually skyrocketed, mainly because of an increase in rear-end accidents.

In 2013, the village brought in $2.5 million of its $5.4 million in revenue from red-light camera tickets, which accounted for 45.5 percent of its total revenue. In 2014, Lakemoor snagged 43 percent of its revenue, $2.2 million, from the fines, according to the Daily Herald analysis.

Read more on the Daily Herald