ISP Website - Misleading

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
December 14, 2008

On September 15 I wrote with excitement about G-Rod's August 8th announcement related to Photo Speed Enforcement (PSE or "PhotoRadar") on Illinois highways. I thought that all my emails, faxes, letters and prayers over the years had done some good.

Well, thinking doesn't make it so. I got to wondering when the State legislators had put one past the public by enacting the new law to allow PSEs. It turns out they haven't.

So, G-Rod was tooting his horn, and Illinois State Police Director Larry Trent was holding the music. From the looks and smell of the big announcement on the homepage of the Illinois State Police (isp.state.il.us), it looked like a done-deal. Half-baked, is more like it. Now I wonder why the State Police are misleading the public by keeping this announcement on their website.

In the words of one legislator, "The ISP website is misleading."

For the life of me, I can't figure out what the legislators are really waiting for. The technology exists. Troopers, prosecutors and judges can be educated. And the defense lawyers will be happy with the boost to their income from all the speeders who flock to their doors.

Speeding in Illinois will never be stopped or even slowed by troopers' writing one ticket at a time. While the trooper is writing that one ticket, hundreds of speeders fly by undisturbed.

If Photo Speed Enforcement cameras were mounted over each lane of traffic on Illinois highways and placed at five-mile intervals around Chicago on interstates, other limited access highways (such as the Elgin-O'Hare Speedway) and the Illinois Tollway, it wouldn't take too long for speeders to catch on and slow down.

Just imagine a speeder from Wisconsin entering Illinois near Beloit and heading for Indiana. At $100/ticket, he'd probably get nailed 6-10 times! Talk about a revenue-generator! Illinois would come sailing out of red ink and head right on into a balanced budget and big pay-offs of State debt.

Drivers today ignore the "Speed Enforced by Radar" signs, but maybe that would change.

And once again Illinois highways would become safe for the three of us today who already obey speed limits.