McSweeney has introduced several bills in recent years to ban the use of red-light cameras. One of those passed the House in 2015 but died in the Senate. Another one, House Bill 323, introduced in January, is still pending in the House, and last week it picked up two new Democratic co-sponsors, Reps. Rita Mayfield, of Waukegan, and Sam Yingling, of Grayslake.

And on Monday, Rep. Grant Wehrli, R-Naperville, introduced a virtually identical bill, House Bill 3909.

In a news release, Wehrli also claimed the devices are a source of political corruption.

“As the FBI’s federal investigation into Senator Sandoval’s shady dealings intensifies, it’s time to re-examine the use of red-light cameras in Illinois and consider the type of ban he has repeatedly blocked,” Wehrli said.

Sandoval, who has not been charged with any wrongdoing, did not respond to a request for comment.

McSweeney, meanwhile, said that even without the alleged corruption, he would still oppose the use of red-light cameras.

“My issue is that I think the red-light cameras, again, are designed for a specific purpose of raising revenue,” he said. “I believe that they're unreliable in a number of cases that have been shown. I don't believe they increase safety. In fact, actually, I believe they increase rear-end collisions based on the studies. But of course, if a policeman sees a person violating the law, that person should be ticketed, but it should be done like any other traffic violation, not through an automated system that is designed to produce revenue.”

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