Traffic Enforcement Profiteering in Chicago

Yesterday I wrote about the moral perils of punishing people in a way that is profitable for the government. Today, the Gary Washburn of the Chicago Tribune gives me another example:

Driving-related fines and fees provided the city treasury with more than $210 million last year. That represented about 4 percent of the 2006 budget, a small, but significant amount. A projected 2008 revenue shortfall of a similar size, $217 million, has brought predictions of a menu of tax, fee and fine increases to plug the gap.

That’s not an incentive that’s going to favor the ordinary citizens of Chicago.

Daley administration officials insist their system is fair, and they say that motorists who think they’ve been cited in error are guaranteed due process.

They can contest their tickets by mail or in person before an administrative hearing officer, presenting photos or other proof to bolster their cases, officials say. If found liable, they can appeal the decision in Cook County Circuit Court.

An administrative hearing officer is a city employee, not an independant judge, so it’s a stretch to call this due process. Consider the experiences of Heather Thorne, who found a police officer writing a parking ticket for her car:

“I asked him where the sign was,” said Thome, 35, a temp worker. “He said there used to be a sign on ‘that’ pole, and it hasn’t been there for two years. My logical question was, ‘How can you write a ticket?’ And he told me he doesn’t want to, but his boss tells him he has to go out every day and write tickets.”

Thome said the cop advised her to appeal to the city’s Department of Administrative Hearings. She did, by mail, with a photo of the scene—sans sign—enclosed. She still was found liable.

Well, that just means that Thorne needs to appeal to the Cook County Circuit Court in order to get this matter heard before a real judge, right?

Not exactly. You see, the ticket was only $50, but the fee for filing the appeal would be $93.