Bill
HB 2857
Creates statewide work-zone speed camera program; civil fines ($100–$200) to owners for speeding in construction zones, with confidential data and funds directed to state accounts.
Status and timeline (selected)
- Filed: February 2025 (sponsored in House by Rep. Jaime M. Andrade, Jr.; multiple co-sponsors listed).
- House passage: Passed the House 115–0 (April 9, 2025).
- Senate: Arrived in Senate April 10, 2025; referred to Assignments; as of June 2, 2025 status shows Rule 3‑9(a) / re‑referred to Assignments.
- Effective date (as introduced): January 1, 2027, except provisions regarding procurement and rulemaking are effective immediately.
Purpose
- Create a statewide program to enforce temporary speed limits in highway construction or maintenance work zones using automated photographic/radar/laser camera systems, with the goal of improving work‑zone safety and compliance with posted speed limits.
Key provisions
- Establishes the "Highway Work Zone Safety (Speed Control) Program" administered by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) in coordination with the Illinois State Police (ISP) and the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority (ISTHA). IDOT has rulemaking authority to implement and administer the Act.
- ISP, with IDOT and ISTHA, may set up and operate work‑zone speed safety camera systems (defined to include photographic devices, radar, laser, etc.) to detect vehicles exceeding posted construction/maintenance speed limits. ISP/IDOT may employ operators and may contract with third‑party vendors to assist in program administration.
- Before deployment, agencies may run a public information campaign and must post clear signs indicating work‑zone speeds are enforced by camera systems.
- Images and data collected: are the exclusive property of the State (not vendors); generally confidential and exempt from FOIA; not discoverable by court order as evidence except to assess a penalty; must be destroyed within 2 years of collection; may be used only to collect the work‑zone speed fine or to administer the Program, with a limited set of internal disclosures (owner, alleged driver, attorneys, law enforcement, DOT/ISP/ISTHA, or court).
- Use of those images to enforce other traffic offenses is prohibited.
Penalties and revenue distribution
- A vehicle owner identified by a work‑zone camera as exceeding the posted work‑zone speed limit commits a civil law violation punishable by a minimum fine of $100 and maximum $200.
- Fine proceeds: distributed by the circuit court clerk within one month as follows: $10 to circuit clerk, $10 to the State's Attorney, $50 to the Transportation Safety Highway Hire‑back Fund, and the remainder to the State Police Vehicle Fund. (The bill includes administrative remittance directions to the receiving agencies.)
Other changes and notes
- Repeals the prior Automated Traffic Control Systems in Highway Construction or Maintenance Zones Act and makes corresponding changes to the Illinois Vehicle Code and Freedom of Information Act provisions.
- House amendments clarified terminology (e.g., “work zone speed safety camera systems”), expanded confidentiality/FOIA language, and added a separate amendment relating to allowing certain public transit agencies to use electronic rear‑view monitoring systems as an alternative to mirrors while a federal exemption remains in effect.
- The bill treats violations as civil (not criminal) and assigns liability to the vehicle owner for a camera‑documented violation; language about repeat offenders and specific enforcement steps for unpaid fines appears in later sections of the bill (some text in the source was truncated).
Who is affected
- Vehicle owners (including out‑of‑state owners) whose vehicles are detected speeding in construction/maintenance speed zones; drivers identified by cameras; rental companies may be implicated under owner‑liability rules.
- IDOT, ISP, ISTHA, local jurisdictions, courts (circuit clerks), State's Attorneys, and vendors/contractors engaged by the State.
Potential impacts (high level)
- Intended to increase compliance with reduced speed limits in work zones and thereby enhance worker and motorist safety.
- Introduces automated civil enforcement across state and toll road work zones with standardized evidence handling, confidentiality protections, and a specified revenue distribution formula.
- Raises policy considerations about privacy, use and retention of camera images, owner liability for automated citations, and the role of third‑party vendors.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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