Emanuel's speed cameras issue $2.4 million in bad tickets

The Chicago Tribune reports:

Mayor Rahm Emanuel's speed camera program improperly issued more than $2.4 million in fines to Chicago drivers, ticketing them when cameras were supposed to be off and when the required warning signs were confusing, obscured or missing, a Tribune investigation has found.

At the same time, City Hall has systematically ticketed drivers near schools without the legally required evidence of a schoolchild in sight. A Tribune random-sample analysis puts the number of those questionable tickets at about 110,000.

And while it was pitched by the mayor as a way to protect youngsters walking near parks and schools, the most prolific cameras in the 2-year-old "Children's Safety Zone" initiative can be found along major roadways, where crash data show child pedestrians are least likely to be struck by speeders.

Theft by government!