City Council approves ordinance for surveillance cameras in private Chicago businesses

A City Council ordinance approved Wednesday in committee sets the stage for the Office of Emergency Management and Communication to use new and currently installed surveillance cameras in private businesses to investigate major crimes in Chicago.

If the ordinance is passed by the full City Council, participating businesses will grant the agency access to their outdoor cameras' video feeds, which will then be transmitted over an encrypted online network to an OEMC databank. When an incident occurs, the OEMC would then access the feeds from nearby cameras and splice them together to create an image of the incident from multiple angles, in real time.

OEMC First Deputy James Argiropoulos told the Committee on Police and Fire that the necessary infrastructure and software are already in place, and businesses should be able to connect to the network by the end of the month.

Argiropoulos said the main goal of the project is to "build a synergistic view" of a crime. "We can better see, better manage and better provide information to people out on the scene of an incident by being able to see that video live," he said.

Businesses can register to join the network on a voluntary basis by entering into memorandums of understanding with the OEMC, meaning each party agrees in writing as to how the recorded video stream will be managed by the city agency.

"We're using your existing Internet, and then we're bringing your video in encrypted," Argiropoulos said. "We'll have some written assurances and governance between the two entities."

The program is currently in testing at three sites in Chicago: Soldier Field, El Topo Tortilla Factory and a bank branch on North LaSalle Street. Argiropoulos told the committee that the program could be extended to thousands of other businesses with no fees required on the part of business owners.

Several aldermen raised questions about the overall security of the system and its vulnerability to hackers. Argiropoulos reassured the panel that the network connection was closed off from outside connections, likening it to a "handshake, which is fully encrypted, and then forces your video to be on a specific pipe."

Ald. John Pope (10th) said the project is the next logical step in a citywide improvement of crime-solving technology. "I think as a city as a whole we realize the success that our crime pods are having throughout the city, so I definitely support this," said Ald. John Pope (10th).

Ald. Ariel Reboyras (30th) said that by extending the reach of law enforcement, the proposal would mutually benefit businesses and the residents who live nearby.

"What we've always wanted to do is share information in the areas that are not covered [by police cameras]," Reboyras said. "This will assist the city as well as their company."