People don't like being lied to and patronized.
The fastest path to the dog house for a politician is to outright lie to people when the jig is up and they already know you are lying.
When Mayor Rahm Emanuel tried to say that the new speeding cameras that will be placed near schools and parks is about the safety of children, I thought for sure he would lose his straight face.
Every reporter in that room, every person on his staff standing behind him and every person watching at home later that night knew the Mayor was lying through his teeth.
Governor Quinn said the same thing when he signed the new law into effect for Chicago. However, if it was all about the children, why did it take him so long to sign it into law?
The tickets are $50 for going 6-10 mph over the limit and anyone caught speeding at 11 mph or greater will get a $100 ticket. If this were really about the safety of children and not the city's bank account, wouldn't you think the Mayor would use speeding ticket money to hire more school crossing guards, donate to after school programs and fund new playground equipment and park fencing? I would think that anyone who is truly all about the children would commit to donating 20% of all speeding ticket money to a fund that supports various children's hospitals across the city. Heck, why stop with speeding money? How about all red light traffic money as well?
C'mon Mr. Mayor and Mr. Governor, show us how much the children mean to you. Get creative and use this new set of fines and citizen bullying to actually help keep kids safe. I bet if you just open up the fund for these kids projects, people will start to donate even without getting tickets.
Oh, and make the yellow light 5 seconds so every driver can make a better decision and not get caught. 5 second yellow lights increase safety. Red light cameras at intersections with 3 second yellow lights increase city revenue. There is a difference. Stop lying to us.
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