Chicago’s first red-light cameras were installed in 2003. Today, there are about 50 positioned at intersections throughout the city, with more cameras on the way. This is not including other government and police cameras placed through-out the city. Over 2,000 all together.

The vast majority of the 210,000 people who received red-light camera tickets between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 simply paid the $90 fine without protest. But of the ones who tried to beat the rap, 90 percent failed, according to figures from the city’s Department of Revenue.

“You can’t beat these tickets,” Chicago Police Officer Clyde Hudson said after he pleaded his own case, where a photo of his car going through a red light to avoid a rear-end accident was mailed to his residence, this past week during an administrative hearing at 400 W. Superior. “This is just a way for the city to make money.”

More than 6,000 people who were ticketed between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31 requested an in-person hearing before an administrative law officer, who weighs vehicle owners’ testimony against photos and video footage of the alleged violations. Only 9 percent of those people were found not liable, according to the city’s figures.

Just a handful of defenses will work, such as proving that a vehicle was stolen or leased to another person at the time of the offense, said city Law Department spokeswoman Jennifer Hoyle.

But red-light tickets can’t be challenged on the basis that the vehicle owner wasn’t driving, because the courts have upheld the legality of other ordinances that hold people responsible for offenses committed with their property.

Yet, the lack of a gray area when it comes to who is found liable makes Nicole Watson, of Oak Park, see red.

Watson contested her ticket, because she said the photos that were mailed to her home show her going through a light that looks yellow, not red.

“In the picture, my tail light is red, but the light is clearly yellow,” Watson said. “It’s frustrating because that’s their evidence, but the evidence doesn’t support the claim.”

$12.5 million in fines collected.

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