By Blackwell Thomas

blackwell.thomas@lee.net

SPRINGFIELD - Automated cameras have been catching Chicago drivers running red lights since the city installed the devices in 2003.

An expansion of state law last year meant municipalities in suburban Chicago and St. Louis could begin using the automated cameras too.

And now a measure winding its way through the General Assembly would give more municipalities the right to use the cameras.

State Rep. Dan Brady, a Bloomington Republican who is sponsoring the proposal, said towns across the state are demanding the right to use the cameras.

"The cities have come forward and asked for it," Brady said. "They would have the opportunity, if the bill is successful, to decide what they want to do. But this bill does not mandate that they have to install cameras."

The cameras work by capturing the image of an offending vehicle and its license plate number, which leads authorities to the vehicle's owner who is mailed a citation.

Now, towns in Cook, Kane, DuPage, Lake, Madison, McHenry and St. Clair counties are the only areas allowed to use the cameras.

Brady's plan would extend the program to cities in McLean, DeKalb, Champaign, Kankakee, La Salle, Peoria, Sangamon, Vermilion, Will and Winnebago counties.

Installation of one camera can cost as much as $100,000 plus monthly monitoring expenses.

But Brady said that's a small price to pay given the greater cost of motorists ignoring red lights.

Brady said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show 167,000 people were injured and 1,000 killed last year across the country because of people running red lights.

Mark Peterson, city manager of Normal, said officials there are lobbying other state lawmakers in support of Brady's proposal.

"We certainly are supportive of the ability to initiate automated cameras at intersections," he said. "That's not saying we will do it, but currently we don't even have the ability to do it."

Peterson added that using the cameras could help relieve some of the pressure on local police.

"We can't have police officers on every corner," he said.

Traffic officials in Chicago say the cameras have been successful in reducing the number of serious accidents caused by motorists running red lights.

Kevin Smith, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management and Communications in Chicago, said his office reports a 55 percent reduction in the number of people running red lights since the cameras were installed.

"These accidents see a great deal of damage to the cars and a great deal of injuries to the motorists involved," he said. "We are still crunching the numbers but it's pretty clear that the result of the cameras is a safer intersection."

In Bloomington, live-feed cameras were installed about three years ago at several intersections along Veterans Parkway and in downtown.

The seven "pan-tilt" cameras on Veterans do not record but provide police with a live feed of roadway activity.

The cameras are beneficial to police because they can give officers the first details of an emergency, said Bloomington Police Department spokesman Duane Moss.

"Cameras can tell us in real time what the situation is," said Moss.

Cameras were useful at a fatal accident at Veterans and Empire Street in February, said Moss.

The ability to pan the camera angle downward allows dispatchers to determine if additional officers are needed at a scene for duties such as traffic control, he said.

Cameras with recording capabilities could provide police with a useful tool, according to Moss.

"Since last year we've have digital cameras in squad cars. The ability to record at intersections would be another improvement," he said.

Edith Brady-Lunny contributed to this report.