Warrant Strategy
Managing old warrants aged anywhere from 5 to 25 years contributes to significant backlogs in the legal system. This report highlights Cook County’s strategic efforts to address a backlog of …
Chicago Speed Cameras Fines Motorists over $102 million on 2023
In 2013, Chicago began issuing fines to motorists captured driving in excess of the speed limit. Since then, speed cameras have generated $879 million for the city, sending 9,132,409 tickets …
Why Automated Speed Cameras Disproportionately Affect Black and Brown Drivers
Automated traffic enforcement is active in nearly 200 communities nationwide. In Chicago, Illinois, speed cameras have been in place since 2013. In 2023, the city generated an extra $120 million …
The Financial Impact of Suspended Licenses in Illinois
Contact with the criminal legal system and sanctions such as driver’s license suspensions can result in limited employment opportunities and have lifelong impacts on a person’s potential earnings. In Illinois, …
Justice by Geography: The Role of Monetary Sanctions Across Communities
Although state statutes often dictate the amount of fines and fees imposed, local courts have significant discretion in how they carry out the laws and there is variation between courts …
475,106 Mistakes: When Tickets are Issued Under False Pretenses
In Chicago, many parking restrictions change according to space, time, and weather factors, resulting in the issuance of erroneous tickets. A review of nearly 3.6 million tickets, cross-examined with administrative …
The Price Kids Pay: Schools and Police Punish Students with Costly Tickets for Minor Misbehavior
In 2015 Illinois legislators passed Senate Bill 100 prohibiting schools from fining students as a form of discipline. However, the law did not apply to police and schools have since …
Is There a Link Between Criminal Debt and Recidivism in Reentry?
To determine whether legal financial obligations (LFOs) are criminogenic, the author analyzed a multistate data set from the Urban Institute’s Returning Home Studies. The study followed formerly incarcerated men through …
Red-Light and Speed Cameras: Analyzing the Equity and Efficacy of Chicago’s Automated Camera Enforcement Program
This report analyzes Chicago’s automated red-light and speed camera program. Using data from red-light and speed camera tickets issued between 2016 and 2019, the authors evaluate the distribution of camera …
What is Wrong with Monetary Sanctions?: Directions for Policy, Practice, and Research
Each year tens of millions of people are assessed fines, fees, and other costs stemming from their contacts with the criminal legal system, ranging from felony convictions to traffic violations. …