Crime & Safety

Picture This: No Red-Light Cameras in Woodridge

Village officials for now refuse to join the trend of towns that snap photos of stoplight scofflaws.

It's a situation of wait and see.

That's how Deputy Police Chief Ken Boehm describes Woodridge's decision not to install red-light cameras in any of its intersections.

"Right now the factors and costs outweigh the benefits," Boehm said. "We're going to wait and see the impact they have on the communities that have them and see if they accomplish what they're supposed to."

Find out what's happening in Woodridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Hotly contested nationwide, advocates hail the cameras as life-saving tools to aid police and foes protest that they are just another way for governments to raise revenue.

A Flossmoor man is suing over his red-light camera case. Two dozen people protested red-light cameras in Chicago last February.

Find out what's happening in Woodridgewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

A University of Illinois-Chicago study conducted by assistant professor Rajiv Shah found that accidents at red-light intersections in Chicago actually increased by 5 percent. In a Fox Chicago story on the study, Brian Steele of the Illinois Department of Transportation countered that red-light cameras reduced accidents by 20 percent in red-light camera intersections and 10 percent overall.

Such uncertainty over the effectiveness of the cameras is keeping them out of Woodridge for now.

"We're investigating our options," said Deputy Chief Ken Boehm. "We'll continue to research how effective these cameras are."

Boehm said the police department has studied village intersections to determine which might be suitable for the cameras. He said traffic-heavy intersections along Illinois 53 would be possible spots for the cameras.

In July, Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a measure that gives drivers greater ability to file an appeal if cited for a red-light violation by a camera. All drivers are required to have access to video of their alleged citation online. Drivers are now able to inch past the white line when turning right to better see oncoming traffic without getting a violation. And violations must be reviewed by a law enforcement officer or a retired officer.

Some of Woodridge's neighbors have the cameras, and some do not.

Bolingbrook Police Lt. Mike Rompa said the village installed red-light cameras at several intersections, including at Boughton and Weber Roads and at Boughton Road and Route 53. However, these cameras were taken down when they failed to accurately enforce left turn violations.

Darien Deputy Chief David Skala said the city council there hasn't considered the idea.

Willowbrook installed red-light cameras at three of its intersections last September along Route 83—at 63rd Street, 75th Street and Midway Drive.

"With traffic flow on 83 at 50,000 plus cars per day ... if this will help reduce accidents and make roadways safer, it's the proper way to go about that," Willowbrook Police Chief Mark Shelton said. "Officers can't be at all the intersections at a time."

He hasn't heard complaints from drivers. The cameras were installed last September, Shelton said, and accidents already have decreased 9.7 percent in that time.

While many drivers anticipated an increase in rear-end collisions, that type of accident had decreased as well, Shelton said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.