As the revenue from red-light cameras continues to flatten and even decline, Rahm's looking to squeeze more money from drivers - or at least, car owners:
- Bigger swathes of Chicago could wind up on video cameras under anti-speeding legislation that passed the Illinois Senate on Wednesday.
The proposal, which passed 32-24 and now moves to the House, is being sought by Mayor Rahm Emanuel to help nab speeders around city schools and parks. The measure applies only to Chicago.
“We have in Chicago a pedestrian fatality rate that’s 68 percent higher than in New York City, and we do lose a number of young children in these crashes in the city of Chicago,” said Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago), the bill’s chief Senate sponsor.
We'd really really like to see the statistical evidence for the speed cameras and the numbers floated around by politicians.
In a WBBM story, a reporter throws out this stat:
In a WBBM story, a reporter throws out this stat:
- ...approximately 84 percent of all pedestrian accidents in Chicago happen within a quarter mile of parks and schools.
This covers something like 60% of the landmass of Chicago and just happens to be areas where kids congregate, so it's going to be skewed. This reminds us of the "within a 1,000 feet of school/church PCS charge that covers something like 80% of Chicago and makes it all but impossible to avoid enhanced charges in the city.
In the same story, they quote a doctor:
In the same story, they quote a doctor:
“We routinely see hundreds of kids a year hit by cars,” said Dr. Sally Reynolds, director of the emergency department at Children’s Memorial Hospital.
Sure you do - you're a hospital specializing in children. But Children's Memorial treats kids from the suburbs, downstate, and even out-of-state. Can we see the break down of Chicago kids treated who got hit in school zones? We're almost positive it will be a miniscule number. If we had hundreds of kids being struck by cars in school zones, we would have been redeployed there years ago and the headlines would have been screaming about the carnage in the streets. The media won't even cover the existing bloodbath in the minority communities of hundreds of gunfire deaths a year, but we're expected to believe hundred of kids are run over in school zones due to speeders?
Anyone want to bet the small number of kids hit by cars are as follows:
Anyone want to bet the small number of kids hit by cars are as follows:
- unattended children -
- crossing away from designated crosswalks -
- out of sight of crossing guards -
- darting out from between parked vehicles -
- or negligent parents running over kids while backing up
But Rahm needs his $100. It's all for the children you know.