Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson & Police Chief Brian Howerton have decided that they will permanently shut off the most lucrative red light camera in the U.S. and cancel plans for 9 more.

But, before we also congratulate Mayor Larson & the Village Board for reversing their positions we should take a look back and see if this mess could have been entirely avoided in the first place.

The following statements are from Red Light Camera Debate at the Village Board Meeting on September 23rd, 2008 which was prior to the implementation of the Red Light Cameras. The Schaumburg Freedom Coalition opposes red light cameras for safety, economic, and civil liberty grounds.

Statement by Brian Costin

“Brian Costin presented several studies that found that red light cameras actually increase the amount of traffic accidents and also fatalities in some cases. These findings are contrary to what is generally accepted which is that the red light cameras reduce traffic accidents, injuries, property damage, and fatalities. Mr. Costin read several case studies that justified his opinion.

Mr. Costin submitted the studies to the Village Board and recommended to the Board that they do not proceed with red light cameras in Schaumburg on the basis that it is a public safety issue. Mr. Costin summarized that there are a lot of signs that are saying that red light cameras make intersections more dangerous, cause more injuries, and cause more property damage.”

Mayor Larson’s Response

“President Larson asked how he explained the results in Elk Grove Village. Craig Johnson, Mayor of Elk Grove was quoted in the Daily Herald that after installation of red light cameras there were a number of intersections that saw a reduction in collisions.”

Mayor Larson refused to acknowledge the significance of the research of respected institutions such as Virginia Department of Transportation,University of South Florida, The Washington Post, North Carolina A&T University, Ontario Ministry of Transportation, Australian Road Research Board, and Monash University (Australia). I wonder if Mayor Larson even glanced at the studies we provided him with before rushing through with the red-light cameras.

The 9 studies presented at the Village Board Meeting showed results from thousands of red-light camera intersections all over the United States & the world for well over a decade.

How can a Mayor be so shortsighted to ignore overwhelming mounds of scientific evidence from so many respected organizations, only to selectively take evidence from a small handful of intersections that had only been operating for a few months?

Simply, Mayor Larson did not do his due diligence.

Dare I suggest that it was indeed about the money that was to be made and not about safety? Just one intersection with red light cameras netted over 10,000 tickets in only 2 months. At $100 bucks a pop, ticket revenue was over a million dollars. It was no surprise that Larson and the Village Board continued plans for an additional 9 cameras. At the rate that the Meacham & Woodfield Road’s camera was raking in the dough, an additional 9 cameras would net more than $80 million in tickets per year. A very big haul indeed.

So what changed in Schaumburg that caused Mayor Larson to reverse his position 180 degrees?

Two words. Political Pressure.

The Schaumburg Freedom Coalition ran an aggressive public campaign against the red light cameras – blogging about them online, opposing them in public meetings, encouraging citizens to write letters of complaint to the members of the Village Board and Mayor Larson, and handing out pamphlets to citizens before Village Board meetings.

“During this period, the Village received about 50 negative phone calls, letters, and e-mails. Many angry out-of-towners threatened to boycott Schaumburg as a shopping, dining, and entertainment destination.” Via Daily Herald.

Perhaps the final straw was a Daily Herald article on March 9th which stated,

“He (Brian Costin) also made a show of passing out pamphlets outside a board meeting opposing the village’s red-light camera.

What’s more, he’s looking for candidates to challenge the board in 2011 – including longtime Mayor Al Larson, should he seek another term.”

At the time of the March 9th article, the Village Board & Mayor Larson were still actively pursuing the installation of an additional 9 cameras, and only suspended the contested intersection’s right turn lane camera for a 6-month period of review.

Fast forward to June 25th, 2009 where Mayor Larson was quoted in a Daily Herald story about why he NOW believes Schaumburg should get rid of the red light cameras.

“harassing them (drivers) with red-light cameras when there’s no justification from a public-safety standpoint just doesn’t make sense,” Larson said.

It’s about time Mayor Larson acknowledges the overwhelming scientific evidence of the dangers of red light cameras. His failure to do his due diligence before 10,000+ tickets were written, and lawsuits against the Village were filed, have been costly for drivers and the community alike.

While Mayor Larson is desperately trying to stave off political pressure from the community, it should be remembered that Mayor Larson and the Village Board had ample opportunity to stop this red light camera debacle from happening in the first place. If only they would have listened to the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition in the first place.

The Schaumburg Freedom Coalition, and Schaumburg residents Mike Theodore & Bob Garrett deserve praise for thier tireless efforts in opposing these cameras over the better part of the last year. This victory is the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition’s biggest political victory ever.

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