Speed Camera’s on Illinois Interstates?

Rod Blagojevich has another great idea.

…the governor is considering installing speed cameras in each direction of every interstate in the 20 State Police districts across Illinois to raise $50 million a year in revenue -- enough for 500 more troopers. The money could support an "elite tactical team" and bolster everything from crash investigations to cold-case murder probes, Trent said.

Currently, camera-equipped vans nab speeders in construction zones, but state law does not allow speed cameras on interstates, Trent said.

In Arizona, 50 speed cameras will be deployed on highways by September with another 50 by January at a cost of about $20 million. The state hopes to raise $90 million a year by imposing $165 fines on vehicles going 10 mph over the speed limit or faster.

Asked what speeds Illinois motorists would have to hit before they would get nailed with a camera violation, Guerrero said, "It would have to be egregious -- 80 or 85 mph. We don't know yet."

I don’t have a huge problem with this as a law enforcement tactic (even though I stand to lose lots of money), but what I object to is that this isn’t being used directly to catch speeders so much as to raise revenue.

I guess if you obey the speed limit (like everyone but me should) you won’t be contributing to this fundraiser, but I think the purpose of the fines should be to discourage bad behavior not raise cash. I’ve never been one of those that assumed traffic tickets were mainly issued to raise money, but I’m starting to rethink that position.