Busted?

June 3, 2009 7:20 AM

Photo-Radar Filter: How can I find out if I was issued a speeding ticket in Chicago?

So, as I was leaving O'Hare and heading toward the city, I realized I was speeding just as I was merging onto 294 south of Rosemont. Now I'm worried I might have gotten a photo-radar ticket. This would be bad because I was not supposed to be there at that particular time.

I tried calling the city of Chicago and Cook County, but everyone I spoke to seemed as clueless as I. Is there any way to determine whether or not a ticket was actually issued? Does anyone out there know who I can call?

Please, MeFites, help me find out whether I need to preempt a photo of me in the wrong place at the wrong time by coming clean now.

posted by anonymous to law & government (9 comments total)

I'd just come clean now, I do believe. (In answer to the last and more important question.)
posted by dawson at 7:35 AM on June 3

Why do you think you were issued a ticket? Largely the photo enforcement threat are psychological. I drive 294 regularly and on the rare occasions they issues speeding tickets there, there are two sets of state troopers, one clocking you (from a bridge, from the side of the road, whatever) and another pulling people over, in large numbers. Happened a few weeks ago.

Unless you have reason to think that you were somehow photo-caught, I think you worries are connected to a deeper sense of guilt for whatever naughtiness you were about. I think you are being a bit paranoid unless there is evidence.
posted by Ponderance at 7:47 AM on June 3

Gak! Pardon the typos!
posted by Ponderance at 7:47 AM on June 3

Were you on the tollway when you were speeding? The Illinois State Police have jurisdiction on the tollway. Did you try calling them? Unfortunately, a cursory search around their website shows no info on photo tickets.

If you were on a surface street, then you have to figure out what town you were in. You may have been in Rosemont, not Chicago.

The state started issuing photo tickets to speeders in construction zones several years ago. If you were in such a zone, than try calling IDOT for more info.

A friend received such a ticket once. It's not only a picture of her car, but it clearly showed her face.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:48 AM on June 3

If you were issued a ticket it would be mailed to the address where your car is registered. If what you're worried about is someone at that address seeing the ticket I'd advise you to start watching the post. I don't know of any way to preempt the mailing of a ticket. You could (if the car is yours and not owned by your company, and thus registered to a residence, not to an office) have your mail forwarded to somewhere for a while - a P.O. box, maybe - until you're sure the time for ticketing has passed.
posted by philotes at 7:53 AM on June 3

I have never seen a photo radar van on the Illinois Tollway outside of a construction zone, and in those cases they were really obvious.
posted by indyz at 8:26 AM on June 3

If you were around Chicago I wouldn't worry about it all that much.

First, from what I understand, the van's flash when you're "caught", so if you didn't see flashing lights, I wouldn't worry. I live downstate and every time someone gets a ticket from a photo enforcement van they know IMMEDIATELY (and gripe to me all day about it). The ticket came 2-3 days later.

Second, in Chicago I blew through a toll booth with my wife flipping off the camera equipment. Now this WAS a mistake...the "fast pass tolling" had JUST been instated, we didn't know we were in the wrong lane, and my wife didn't mean to flip off the CAMERA, the sign said "Open Road Tolling brought to you by Gov. Blagojevich" (and if you live in IL you'd understand why we'd flip off that sign).

So it turned out that we sped through the toll booth, speeding no less, FLIPPING OFF THE CAMERA no less....and we never got a ticket. If ANYONE would get a ticket I'd think it would have to be us in that situation.

So...given that the fallout of "coming clean" seems bad, and will likely not be much different if the ticket comes or if you break the news first, I'd say just hold on and keep a close eye on the mail and hope for the best.
posted by arniec at 9:29 AM on June 3

arniec, I used to think that they'd never catch me as I blew through tolls when I forgot my IPASS...and then one day...a year or so after the fact....I got a nice list of the times I'd missed and a big fat total.
posted by Ponderance at 11:07 AM on June 3

Ponderance, in arniec's case he said this happened just after iPass was installed, and that was in 2005 according to Wikipedia (I checked to be sure my memory was right), so this incident may have happened well over a year ago.
posted by IndigoRain at 10:33 PM on June 3