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         February 28, 2010        

Tax Red Light Camera company revenues
95% to balance State of Illinois budget

The Rob Sherman Plan to make a major dent in balancing the budget of the State of Illinois is to impose a 95% tax on the revenues of the Red Light Camera companies that have been making obscene, completely unjustified profits by screwing Illinois motorists.

The companies have been screwing motorists who "turn right on red after yielding" to other traffic and pedestrians, although not making a full, rock-back stop, and motorists who travel straight through an intersection, or turn left, just after the light turns red, despite the motorist having no intention of running the red light, and well before the conclusion of the all-red period where the light stays red for all traffic for a second or two to help ensure that the intersection has cleared before anybody else gets a green light.

Red Light Camera violations typically score a $100 rip-off ticket on unsuspecting motorists.  The camera companies keep an unreasonably high percentage of the price of the ticket, often 50%, most of which is pure profit.

Why should the camera companies be keeping so much of that money, particularly since red light cameras are simply a scam to generate revenue for the parasite municipalities and camera companies who conspire to rob motorists through this system?  If we are going to have red light cameras, let the People of the State of Illinois keep that money for ourselves, rather than flushing that money down the toilet to the camera companies.

The tax on the camera companies should be 95% of the revenue that they get to keep, but certainly no less that 80%.  This tax should be on the revenue that the camera companies keep, not the money that the municipalities bleed from us through this scam.

Imagine how many hundreds of millions more the State of Illinois would get through the Rob Sherman Red Light Camera Tax Plan, and how many hundreds of millions less that the camera companies would get.  Hundreds of millions more for the State without raising taxes on Illinois residents!

I've never received a Red Light Camera ticket, because I only make "rolling stops" at traffic lights that don't have red light cameras, and also at stop signs, before turning right.

My operating philosophy has always been:  Don't get mad.  Get even!  For years, the Red Light Camera companies have been screwing us.  It's time for us to screw them back.  Besides, we need the money far more than these parasite companies do.

I've proposed this plan to Green Party candidate for Governor Rich Whitney.  He's intrigued, has promised to crunch the numbers and get back to me within a week.

Hello, Pat Quinn!  Hello, Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard!  Hello, General Assembly!  How about it?

If you believe that red light cameras are about safety, not revenue, then you probably believe that the "Moment of Silence" law in Illinois is about calming kids down and reducing violence, rather than the Legislature trying to get kids to pray at the beginning of each day in public schools.  Sure, that's it!  Red light cameras are about safety, and the Student Prayer Act is about reducing violence, not sneaking prayer into the public school classroom.

Please e-mail a comment to me at rob@robsherman.com to let me know what you think, and I'll post your comments, below.

I look forward to your comments on this one.

Please tell your friends about this through your social media networks and word of mouth.

Send personal comments, comments unrelated to this story or notification of typos that you see in any of my posts to rob@robsherman.com.

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