Red-light cameras coming to Elk Grove

If you're accustomed to running red lights in Elk Grove Village, you might want to change your ways.

The Elk Grove Village board on Tuesday unanimously approved the installation of cameras at various intersections.

The measure is expected to save lives as more people will be less likely to speed through red lights, and police officers will not have to watch intersection for violators as much, so they can work on other duties, village officials said.

"This decision is a no-brainer for us," Mayor Craig Johnson said. "It makes all the sense in the world."

Lombard-based RedSpeed Illinois will install these cameras as early as the next two weeks. The village will be looking at which intersections to target, village officials said. The main corner of Arlington Heights and Higgins roads is a good bet for a camera, Johnson said.

Cameras will be installed to catch the license plates of offenders. The cameras will not be on all the time, said Michael Lebert, a sales consultant for RedSpeed. The vehicle must cross a wire embedded in the road while the light is red for the camera to snap a picture. The pictures are sent to the Lombard office where a technician will view them to see if a violation definitely occurred.

The information is forwarded to the Illinois secretary of state and the Elk Grove Village police. A picture of the vehicle going through the red light will be printed on the ticket. The driver whose name is registered to the vehicle will be ticketed.

For every ticket that is issued, RedSpeed will take about 30 percent of the driver's fee, so there is no out-of-pocket expense to the village. The village will keep the rest of the fine, Lebert said.

If there are no violators the company doesn't get paid, he said. There will be a sign alerting drivers that the intersection is being monitored by cameras, he said.

Other suburbs have signed up for this service as well, Lebert said, including Franklin Park, Rosemont, Melrose Park and Bolingbrook.