Lake County Gazette

Chris Bos considers the whole red-light camera debate to be a complicated issue.

“It’s like a few of the things in Springfield in that it’s a policy that could be of some benefit to the state but because of all the corruption associated with it everything that could maybe be a positive gets lost in the wash,” Bos told the Lake County Gazette. “I think it’s really complicated because there are some areas where the cameras have been clearly helpful at high-traffic intersections.”

Still, Bos, running against incumbent state Rep. Mary Edly-Allen (D-Libertyville), admits if he were already in Springfield he would be joining with the growing number of GOP lawmakers now calling for a ban on the cameras. A bill sponsored by state Rep. David McSweeney (R-Barrington Hills) seeks to remove nearly 100 of the devices across the state. House Bill 322 would outlaw red-light cameras in non-home-rule communities and is now slated to go before the full House for a vote. Passage would mean the removal of red-light cameras in at least 45 of 101 communities, or 92 of the 607 cameras operating in the state.

“At the very least, I think we need to put a pause on the program and open things up for more scrutiny,” he said. “We need to allow everything to come to light and see where it leads us.”.

In all, Illinois Policy Institute estimates that red-light cameras have accumulated more than $1 billion in revenue since first being installed a little more than a decade ago.

"You see how in some areas they flood the neighborhoods with the cameras and you know the whole reason behind that is to generate revenue,” Bos added. “I think we can all agree that is not what this should be about.”