Bribery charge, resignations hit prominent players in red-light camera scandal

03/09/2020
A Cook County commissioner quits as a former city administrator faces a bribery charge. Both played roles in the rise of red-light cameras and vendor SafeSpeed.

TAGS: Chicago Department of Aviation, conflict of interest, Cook County, corruption, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, Jeff Tobolski, Lyons, Martin Sandoval, McCook, Oak Brook, Patrick Doherty, red light cameras, SafeSpeed, Toni Preckwinkle

Bill to remove nearly 100 red-light cameras advances to House floor

02/06/2020
The proposal to limit red-light cameras in Illinois is making progress as another bill’s sponsor believes she can garner the votes to ban them entirely.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, corruption, David McSweeney, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, home rule, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Illinois House of Representatives, Jonathan Carroll, Martin Sandoval, Oakbrook Terrace, red light cameras, SafeSpeed, Springfield, Susana Mendoza

After $1B in tickets and 4 corruption indictments, Illinois should shutter the red-light camera industry

By Austin Berg
01/30/2020
With a federal corruption probe burrowing deeper into Springfield, the Illinois General Assembly has only one choice when it comes to the future of a red-light camera industry that has infected nearly 100 communities statewide: shut it down.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, corruption, David McSweeney, fees, fines, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, John Bills, local government, Martin O'Malley, Martin Sandoval, Mike Madigan, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems, SafeSpeed, Springfield

‘Fair tax’ backer pleads guilty to tax fraud

By Vincent Caruso
01/28/2020
Former state Sen. Martin Sandoval once headed the powerful Senate Transportation Committee. He now faces up to 13 years in prison on corruption charges involving a controversial red-light camera company.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, conflict of interest, corruption, Ed Burke, embezzlement, ethics, fair maps, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, fraud, graduated income tax, house rules, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, pork barrel spending, progressive income tax, red light cameras, redistricting, revolving door, Springfield, tax fraud, Tom Cullerton

Feds indict champion of Illinois gas tax hike, ‘fair tax’ on tax fraud and bribery

By Vincent Caruso
01/27/2020
The former chair of the influential Senate Transportation Committee is the fourth Illinois politician indicted on federal charges amid a sweeping FBI probe.

TAGS: bribery, Chicago, conflict of interest, corruption, Ed Burke, embezzlement, ethics, fair maps, fair tax, FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal, federal government, federal investigation, fraud, gas tax, graduated income tax, graduation rate, house rules, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, IRS: Internal Revenue Service, JB Pritzker, Legislative Inspector General, Luis Arroyo, Martin Sandoval, Mike Madigan, pork barrel spending, progressive income tax, red light cameras, redistricting, revolving door, SafeSpeed, Senate Transportation Committee, Smart Scale, Springfield, tax fraud, transparency, waste, watchdog

Oakbrook Terrace mayor resigns amid red-light camera probe

01/23/2020
Federal investigators have been digging into the political corruption surrounding red-light cameras, including a pair of the multi-million dollar traffic devices in Oakbrook Terrace.

TAGS: FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation, federal investigation, FOIA: Freedom of Information Act, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, Martin Sandoval, Oakbrook Terrace, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems, SafeSpeed, Susana Mendoza, Tony Ragucci

Illinois comptroller calls red-light cameras ‘broken and morally corrupt’

01/07/2020
Traffic cameras collected more than $1 billion from drivers since 2008, but corruption probes are prompting state comptroller to stop acting as ticket collection agency.

TAGS: corruption, David McSweeney, federal investigation, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, Illinois, Jeff Tobolski, Lyons, Martin Sandoval, McCook, red light cameras, Redflex Traffic Systems, SafeSpeed, Springfield

Former Chicago official had side job with red-light camera company

11/15/2019
The former deputy aviation commissioner had an undisclosed position as a sales representative for SafeSpeed LLC. The red-light camera vendor keeps emerging in federal probes.

TAGS: Board of Ethics, Chicago, Chicago Board of Ethics, Chicago City Hall, Chicago Department of Aviation, Cook County, Cook County commissioner, department of aviation, federal investigation, IDOT: Illinois Department of Transportation, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, investigation, Jim Edgar, Martin Sandoval, red light cameras, SafeSpeed, Springfield

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Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

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