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Running a red light may get more complicated-and more expensive-for some of the country's uninsured drivers.Under a proposal by Chicago Alderman Edward Burke, cameras at 132 city intersections that currently enforce $100 red light violations would also be used to nab motorists whose cars are uninsured.Washington, DC officials told FOXNews.com it is willing to consider a similiar program.Burke says the increased enforcement not only would make Chicago's roadways safer, but, at $90 per violation, would raise nearly $10 million a year for the cash-strapped city."I favor using these cameras to catch more than just motorists who run red lights," Burke said in January when announcing his proposal. "I believe it would also be a responsible use of these cameras to try and reduce the number of motorists who flaunt the law by driving without insurance."Donal Quinlan, Burke's press secretary, stressed that the alderman's proposal to check for insurance coverage pertains only to vehicles already cited for red light violations. But in the interest of making money, he said, every scenario will be considered."I don’t think we're taking anything off the table," Quinlan said of the possibility of using cameras to check all vehicles for insurance coverage, regardless of whether they've run a red light."There certainly are different roads we could take to achieve higher revenue sources. I'm sure this will become part of the discussion as this proposal gets further consideration."That has alarmed officials at the American Civil Liberties Union and AAA, who say the proposal appears to be more concerned with creating cash flow than safe traffic flow, and would bring Chicago a step closer to automatic law enforcement. "This is being driven by revenue," said Jay Stanley, a national ACLU spokesman."It's quite unseemly. The purpose of law enforcement is not to generate revenue-it's public safety. If all the talk is about revenue, I think it's a good indication that there's something fishy about this."Stanley is also concerned with what he calls "mission creep." "Today it's one thing, but tomorrow it could be another," Stanley said of how the red light cameras are used by authorities. "Automatic license plate scanning can be legitimate if it's for very narrowly-tailored purposes, but we don't want to see what we most strongly fear and oppose-technology for tracking innocent people going about their business."By Joshua Rhett Miller
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