Chicago’s Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been caught not paying her own tickets for speeding and other traffic violation after she squeezed city residents by making the fines stricter.
Lightfoot recently angered Chicago residents by lowering the threshold for speed camera tickets from 10 mph to 6 mph.
Residents and city leaders were furious by the move and had unsuccessfully tried to block her anti-driver effort.
“No one likes speed cameras,” the mayor said as she won the battle to increase the threshold.
“I get it. But this is life or death that we’re talking about here, and we’ve got to step up as a city and address this.
“It is unconscionable that any City Council member would consider voting to allow for increased speeds near spaces utilized by our children.
“Today, by a 16 to 15 vote, the City Council Committee on Finance voted to sanction higher speeds around schools and parks, when it seems that every day there is another traffic fatality because of speeding and reckless drivers.
“It is simply unconscionable that, after losing 173 Chicagoans to speed-related traffic fatalities in 2021, some Aldermen are acting with so little regard for public safety.
“By state law, the revenues generated by these fines help pay for public safety, infrastructure, after-school programming in parks and schools, Safe Passage workers, and many more vital programs.”
Lightfoot even attempted to “name and shame” those who opposed her effort to make traffic violations stricter:
“The Aldermen voting to allow increased speeds around schools and parks are: Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward), Pat Dowell (3rd Ward), Sophia King (4th Ward), Leslie Hairston (5th Ward), Roderick Sawyer (6th Ward), Anthony Beale (9th Ward), Susan Sadlowski-Garza (10th Ward), Marty Quinn (13th Ward), Raymond Lopez (15th Ward), David Moore (17th Ward), Matthew O’Shea (19th Ward), Silvana Tabares, (23rd Ward), Anthony Napolitano (41st Ward), Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward), Tom Tunney (44th Ward), Debra Silverstein (50th Ward).
“Residents need to remember these names,” she added.
“What happened today is simply not responsible governance.
“I will not let City Council jeopardize public safety.”
Her comments have aged poorly, however, as it’s now emerged that Lightfoot and her team have not been paying their speed and red light camera tickets.
To make matters worse, the city dismissed Lightfoot’s tickets shortly before the information was leaked to the media.
Yet, the taxpaying people of Chicago would not be so lucky and would be forced to pay their fines.
Lori Lightfoot’s city SUVs have racked up red light and speed camera tickets that aren’t being paid.
Some were issued in school zones with children present, according to records. A seizure order is out for one of her old SUVs due to non-payment.https://t.co/sbS8rAHIbN
— CWBChicago (@CWBChicago) July 25, 2022
From CWB Chicago:
Two of the police-driven SUVs that currently shuttle Lightfoot around town have racked up three speed camera tickets and two warnings in the past 14 months.
The city’s finance office confirmed that none of the fines had been paid as of July 22.
One of the mayor’s current SUVs also has a red light ticket. It’s also unpaid.
There are also outstanding speed and red light tickets on two SUVs that used to be assigned to Lightfoot’s security team, according to city records.
Records show one of those SUVs is now eligible to be booted and impounded due to a lack of payment.
Her old cars received many more tickets, but the city had a practice of dismissing Lightfoot’s tickets—until the Chicago Tribune reported on the practice in November 2020.
