Chicago to start using cameras to ticket drivers going as little as 6 MPH over the limit

Starting in just a few days, the city of Chicago will begin an aggressive camera-based speed enforcement campaign.

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced earlier this month that starting on January 15, drivers who are caught on camera driving 6 m.p.h. to 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit will receive warnings in the mail.

Starting on March 1, drivers caught on speed cameras with 6 m.p.h. to 10 m.p.h. speed violations will be mailed $35 citations. Those caught driving 11 m.p.h. or faster over the speed limit will receive a $100 citation. After March 1, drivers who have never before received a camera enforcement violation will receive a single warning letter before the city begins to mail speeding citations.

Lightfoot’s new speed enforcement effort is meant to help offset part of the city of Chicago’s $1.2 billion budget deficit for 2021. City officials also pointed to an “alarming increase in vehicle speeding and traffic fatalities” as a reason for the need for more speed enforcement.

Chicago has used speed camera enforcement since 2013, but this is the first time that they have been used to enforce this lower speed limit threshold. Previously, the city issued $35 tickets to those traveling 10 m.p.h. over the speed limit and $100 tickets to those going 11 m.p.h. or more over the speed limit.