The black box blinked once. Twice. Attached to a light pole on South Ashland Avenue, the newly-minted speed camera flashed a total of eight times in about 30 seconds one August afternoon, cars zooming by after cruising off I-55 a few blocks north.

Drivers ticketed for speeding there on June 1 — the first day the camera went online — have so far paid the city more than $60,000, in increments of $35 and $100.

It’s a drop in the municipal bucket for Mayor Brandon Johnson’s citywide camera expansion meant to help him balance this year’s budget.

But if early returns are any indication, speeding tickets from the new cameras are quickly hurtling toward the $11.4 million benchmark Johnson counted on for 2025. As the first batch of new cameras went live in June, the city issued more tickets than

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