By IL Public Radio
Springfield, ILL. – Some railroad crossings in Illinois might soon be equipped with surveillance cameras. Under a new law that went into effect Monday, mounted cameras will be allowed to look for drivers who go around the gates at crossings.
"It's part of an enforcement and education effort," said Mike Claffey, a spokesperson with the Illinois Department of Transportation. "If they go around the gate, they're going to have their picture taken and they're going to get a ticket in the mail.
"We think that will be a very valuable deterrent to people going around gates that are down."
Claffey says local governments will decide where the cameras are necessary, with each camera costing at least $20,000 to set up. Guilty drivers could be fined $250.
Lawmakers took up the matter after a Metra train hit 15 cars and injured 16 people in November 2005 in Chicago.