Lawmakers are considering a measure that would help police catch motorists who run red lights.

A bill being discussed in the Illinois House would give communities the authority to install cameras, controlled by sensors under the pavement, at intersections to catch red-light scofflaws.

The State Senate voted 33-22 in favor of the bill, introduced by John J. Cullerton, D-6th, of Chicago.

Cullerton said Chicago’s red-light camera program has been successful. (I would say $22+ million is pretty successful)

“This bill is a tremendous promoter of roadway safety and it dramatically reduces fatalities at red lights,” Cullerton said.

After the Senate approved the bill to give other communities authority to install cameras, State Rep. Angelo “Skip” Saviano, R-77th, introduced it in the House; it currently is in the Rules Committee.

Saviano, like Cullerton, rejects privacy objections to the program.

“I don’t consider it Big Brother,” Saviano said. “It will eventually act as a deterrent.”

But State Sen. Wendell E. Jones, R-27th of Palatine, voted against the bill, one of 22 senators to do.

“I think we’ve got enough big government looking down our back, so I tend to vote against that kind of thing,” Jones said. “You can go too far with the government looking at everything.”

He also doubted the program would be applicable to smaller towns.

“I know that in Chicago it’s probably a safety factor, but I doubt that it is anywhere else in the state. And it’s just more intrusion into people’s lives,” Jones said.

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