Saw an article this morning about California installing license plate recognition cameras on cop cars and using them to nail people who owe for tolls, tickets, etc. So this isn't news, the cameras are in use around here already and I even saw a state trooper pull a guy over after getting a hit on his plate, probably for some outstanding violation. The guy wasn't speeding or doing anything wrong but as soon as I saw the license plate camera, I knew why he'd been pulled over.

Guess that means no more incalls for you. Time to make your underground bunker nice and cozy for outcalls. ha ha

when I left Shitcago. No big loss, it flooded one too many times. Now I'm just a slob on a slab.


-- Modified on 5/21/2014 3:28:21 PM

This shouldn't be a surprise but it is scary. For lots of reasons.

Even if the CPD had them, they would be too lazy to use them.

while watching the Bay area news this morning, big brother has also had a law in place whereas if more than 100 people gather in one spot for an event, facial recognition software must be in place..

being bad.

CPD not only has them, they use them in most public parking lots. Cameras mounted on both sides of the cop car, they drive down every aisle and shoot plates on both sides at the same time. It's a major source of revenue for the city. They also drive down one-way streets and shoot cars on both sides.

Sorry Court but it's going on all over the place. The eight counties comprising metro Chicago are the only ones allowed to use red-light cams in this state - they're illegal in all other counties. Google for the lawsuit currently before the IL Supreme Court claiming that red-light cams are illegal in all of IL and that these 8 counties can't over-ride IL law. Interesting case and it also includes the claim that we must be able to face our accuser in a court of law. What are they gonna do, take the cams down and bring them into court, lol? I know, it sounds ridiculous but let's see what the ISU has to say about it.

It's only a matter of time before they turn the tollway cams into speed traps measuring how long it takes to get between toll booths and issuing speeding tickets automatically. In IL, everything's already installed but they can't turn it on because it's still against state law. Given how broke this state is, it won't be long before they realize how big a source of revenue they're missing catching every speeder on our tollways. And almost everyone speeds on the toll roads. Big $$$$$$.

Whenever a government gets itself into too much debt they have always, and without exception, turned on their own people. Now they've wrote crazy laws that if you do not have both hands on the steering wheel, you will be pulled over with the claim that you "might be texting". Guilt is always assumed. The government is starving for money because their pensions are unfunded. They always assume they can tax the people to get their lavish retirements.

It used to be easy, drive to meet a provider and head back to your normal place and no one was the wiser. Now our damn cars are tracking our locations, Rahm and his suburban buddies are pointing cameras at us at red lights, in school zones, and with license plate cameras. Then they made all hand-held use of cell phones in a car illegal unless the car is in park. Look down at your radio to change the station, your cell is sitting on the passenger seat, and the cop can pull you over suspecting you were texting. Can you prove you weren't? Who drives with both hands on the wheel at all times? Not stick-shift drivers and neither do the rest of us. I change the radio station, uh oh, I guess that's distracted driving too now huh? I looked down at the radio so I must be texting. I'm leaning my head on my hand and my elbow is on the arm rest of the door - I must have a phone to my ear.

It's been a big issue that speed cams are installed in several places throughout Chicago, mostly near schools. Speeding tickets ARE going out.

My plates are registered to an anonymous company. I could run somebody over and it would never get traced back to me.

Google Glass will have extensive face recognition.  Google is negotiating with various cities to install stupid fast fiber for nothing.  Nothing...really? It will soon be like Minority Report where there will be face recognition, then the mining of big data to tailor ads just for you.  Or access Acxiom's databases when you try to apply for a job and all the "privacy agreeements" or "opt out" policies that you never read to download the latest Angry Bird app or whatever which gives them free access to your address books, text messages and the like.

They have the photo of your car and you driving it. The plates won't trace back but facial recognition will get so good they'll be able to ID you. If your face is posted publicly on FB, LinkedIn, or any other web site, the match will be easy.

Google is nosing in on everything we're doing. Speaking of fiber, have you seen the new fiber runs along the I-90 construction zone? They're up on poles for the moment but this fiber will be used for everything from cameras to assisting driverless Google cars.