About 14 years ago the good folks running Chicago had a great idea. "Let's get on to the red-light camera caper," they said. "We can pretend we're doing good while raising a shedload of money."
Red-light and speeding cameras are the heroin of state governments and city officials around the world. When Chicago awarded its first red-light contract to Australian listed company Redflex in 2003, the cameras generated $30,000 in revenue. Ten years on, the cameras were pouring $100 million into the city.
Redflex supplies red-light, speed and numberplate cameras to every Australian state and our largest shopping centres. But this is not the story of Australian technology or whether red-light cameras improve safety; it's a tale of corruption that makes you question the ethics of a whole industry.
For instance, last year the Redflex executive who successfully gained and expanded the Chicago business pleaded guilty to a US federal bribery charge, according to an FBI statement.
"As the CEO of Redflex Traffic Systems Inc, Karen Finley funnelled cash and other personal financial benefits to a City of Chicago official and his friend, knowing that the payments would help persuade the city to award red-light camera contracts to Redflex," a plea agreement says.
From 2004 to 2012 Chicago awarded Redflex $171m in contracts. Redflex awarded Bills more than $2m in bribes. But not only did the city's revenue go up, the number of accidents did too.