GETTING SOME PAYBACK
City to give 1.2 million drivers 50% refunds for red- light, speed camera tickets
Chicago will pay 50 percent refunds to 1.2 million motorists denied due process after receiving red- light camera and speed camera tickets, under a $ 38.75 million settlement that outraged an influential alderman.
As part of the landmark settlement, the city also has agreed not to use any of the 1.5 million tickets issued over a five- year period in suspending driver’s license or booting vehicles.
The settlement includes $ 26.75 million in cash refunds to motorists who paid their fines and $ 12 million in debt forgiven from motorists who never paid their tickets.
“In light of some court rulings in the litigation and the potential for a significant award of damages in excess of $ 250 million, we are recommending that the City Council approve this settlement in order to minimize the risk and financial exposure to the taxpayers,” said Corporation Counsel Ed Siskel.
A judge has ruled that the city denied due process to 1.2 million motorists by failing to send those drivers a second notice of their violations.
The Emanuel administration further erred by imposing $ 100 late fees when payment was not received within 21 days of a liability determination in some cases — even after the law was changed in 2012 to require a 25day grace period.
Publicly, plaintiffs’ attorney Jacie Zolna has spent months demanding $ 200 million. Zolna said Thursday he agreed to accept less than 20 percent of that amount to avoid a protracted court battle.
The settlement was first disclosed by Chicago Sun- Times columnist Michael Sneed.
“I agreed to it because it’s a ton of money. It’s the most I could get out of the city. … The city has refused to put up money in any of these cases,” Zolna said.
“There’s been a dozen other lawsuits, and they’ve won every single one. The net result could have been nothing, and that could have happened five or six years from now. … The fact that this one stuck — and they came up with close to $ 40 million. People were outraged. Their fines doubled quicker than they should have. They were found liable quicker than they should have. It’s about justice, and that’s what we got.”
Ald. Anthony Beale ( 9th), chairman of the City Council’s Transportation Committee, was outraged that Chicago taxpayers were on the hook for nearly $ 40 million because somebody in the City Hall bureaucracy dropped the ball on due process.
“Someone didn’t do their job or didn’t do their job accurately. … Some heads should roll. It’s not right. It’s unjust. Taxpayers of this city cannot continue to bear this kind of burden,” Beale said.
The 1.2 million impacted motorists together received 1.5 million red- light and speed camera tickets between 2010 and 2015, when the rules were changed to guarantee due process.
That’s somewhere between onethird of and one half of all red- light and speed cameras tickets issued during that same period.
The rest of the tickets issued during that period do not apply, since many of them were paid or challenged or motorists received the proper notice. The settlement assumes that roughly half of the motorists offered refunds will not claim them.
The settlement is expected to be approved by the City Council’s Finance Committee on Monday and the full Council on Wednesday. After that, it needs to be approved by the judge.
Impacted motorists then have to be notified by mail and given the opportunity to opt in or out. Siskel said it would be “months” before motorists receive cash refunds. The city also intends to set up a website to get the word out.
Almost as important as the refunds is the city’s promise not to use any of those 1.5 million tickets when it comes to determining whose car gets a Denver boot and whose driver’s license gets suspended.
“A significant portion of the people who are in this class called me because they have a boot on their car or they’re getting threatening letters that their driver’s license is gonna be suspended . . . So, wiping those 1.5 million tickets off the books to do that is a big deal,’’ Zolna said.
“SOMEONE DIDN’T DO THEIR JOB OR DIDN’T DO THEIR JOB ACCURATELY. … SOME HEADS SHOULD ROLL. IT’S NOT RIGHT. IT’S UNJUST. TAXPAYERS OF THIS CITY CANNOT CONTINUE TO BEAR THIS KIND OF BURDEN.” ALD. ANTHONY BEALE