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Health & Fitness

Revenue on the Backs of Citizens

A Chicago Heights resident takes a closer at Mayor Rahm Emanuel's speed camera plan.

Nothing is more upsetting than when someone stands in front of you and lies so blatantly that only a spineless buffoon would believe it. Not that I would appreciate a believeable lie either.

He asserts that this is a measure to protect children. Being a father of seven kids, child safety is always a concern for me. However this is not a child safety measure, it is nothing more than a money generating scheme. PERIOD. 

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1.) When or where has there been such a concern about children safety near schools and or parks?

2.) The speed limit near both school and parks has been established for years, and in the scope of our population has been obeyed without any much concern.

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3.) As much as our news rely on tragedy to report, please show me how they missed the rash or mass or even minimum outbreak of children that have been hit or ran over near schools or parks.

4.) He proposes a progressive fine starting at $100 for 5 mph over the speed limit. Since when is there a significant danger to a child when a car traveling at 30 mph rather than 25 mph? When does 5 mph equate to $100? Is our reaction time significantly less at 30 mph compared to 25 mph? Does a two-ton car create much more force at 30 mph compared to 25 mph?

5.) He uses a 1968 study of how many kids walked to school and implies that because of cars the safety of children is at risk, and they cannot walk to school. Children walked to school more in 1968 (if even such a study exist) because households owned less cars. Possibly today's concern of attacks on a person would prompt less walkers than cars speeding near parks and schools. 

6.) He makes a claim that this proposed idea is reinforced by the death of a child hit by a car when leaving a Halloween party this Oct. 29. First, Mr. Emanuel what does the death of a child on Saturday have to do with schools? Second, what does a child walking from a party have to do with schools? Last, in a city with 2.7 million people, how does one child being killed pose a threat to the safety of the population?

7.) Then he uses the issue that construction workers have speed cameras, so why shouldn’t children. Here is the problem with this thinking, Schools and parks are in residential areas with speed limits that the majority of the citizens follow. We have a innate concern about our children and our neighbor's children, so much so that we are mindful of them and proceed with caution when around them. Construction workers are situated in TRAFFIC where the speed limit can be anywhere from 15 to 65 mph. The road rage from the most even-tempered driver in a construction zone, which is a legitimate concern, has prompted cameras there.

Mayor Emanuel is trying to fix Chicago's budgetary issues and that is good, but not if it is on the backs of the citizens.The budget is the government’s problem. This budgetary issue was created by the government’s misappropriation of funding. To fix it, the government (Chicago) needs to make deeper cuts and, if needed, ethical revenue generation. 

My concern with this is because whenever Chicago comes up with these oppressive legislations, other needy suburban towns seemingly are quick to follow.

Stop light and speed cameras are wrong for America.

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