Some people from some generations and some areas of the United States will remember a bromide from their driving days:

“Cop didn’t see it, I didn’t do it.”

The game was generally a fun one, indulged by people out very late (or very early) who were on empty streets. They weren’t speeding or just ignoring laws. They were playing a little loose because of the utter lack of danger. If your car is the only one within a mile of yourself, you’re doing no damage, the theory went.

Technology attempted to close the chapter on that kind of behavior, though. Cities began installing cameras at red lights. Unsuspecting drivers would receive tickets through the mail for a street infraction they thought was probably harmless. Drivers grumbled about being punished for a victimless crime, and cursed the ways law enforcement could find their ways into citizens’ pockets even when the citizens were all alone.

This month, Illinois Comptroller Susanna Mendoza said that in February she will stop assisting the 60 suburbs in collecting red light camera fines if offenders don’t pay. Mendoza said the red light camera system targets minorities and the poor, and added, “The system is clearly broken I’m exercising my moral authority to prevent state resources being used to assist a process that frankly victimizes tax payers,” Mendoza said.