As one of the most surveilled cities in the world, Chicago collects vast amounts of sensitive information about its residents every day.  The city employs an extensive, unchecked, surveillance camera system that is utilized by an unknown number of agencies, including CPD.

What specific steps would your administration take to limit and regulate the use, and how will you ensure that the public knows how these systems work, and what technology is being utilized? 


DOROTHY BROWN:

Mayoral Questionnaire
To begin, I would hire an outside auditor to conduct a thorough assessment of the surveillance policies and practices of city agencies.  The results would be published so that the public can see how they are being monitored by the City and for what purposes.  Secondly, I would establish a Task Force on Privacy and Surveillance that would make recommendations for establishing camera surveillance policies at city agencies.  The Task Force would recommend a policy on citizen review of surveillance records, appropriate time limits for preserving and maintaining surveillance records, and seek public input on the appropriate use of surveillance cameras.   The Task Force would consist of privacy experts, public safety officials, attorneys with knowledge of constitutional law, and technical experts in the field of surveillance.  

GERY CHICO:

Mayoral Questionnaire

There is simply no reason why city surveillance indexes cannot be incorporated into the city’s data portal while protecting sensitive information about individuals and law enforcement investigations, and I will enact this policy.


BILL DALEY:

DID NOT RESPOND.


AMARA ENYIA:

Mayoral Questionnaire

I would have a cross-agency audit conducted involving legal and law enforcement personnel to determine the extent to which the populace should be made aware of type, approach, and systems employed related to public surveillance.


BOB FIORETTI:

DID NOT RESPOND.


LA SHAWN FORD:

Mayoral Questionnaire
Surveillance and other advances in technology that harm the privacy of individual residents is a serious problem. If not kept in check, this will become an ever increasing problem with advancements in technology. These technologies, including artificial intelligence, have been shown to amplify existing biases against people of color, the poor, and those who have been previously incarcerated. I will approach this issue very seriously and am always open to working with the ACLU on it.

JERRY JOYCE:

DID NOT RESPOND.


JOHN KOZLAR:

Mayoral Questionnaire

If the technology is being used to protect our city and our community members, I will support the measures so as long as the policies are transparent to all. We all have to work together to ensure that people’s privacies are being respected, and to make sure we have an equitable balance with public safety. In order to utilize our systems, one must have the proper authority, which we will set up through the Mayor’s office, Chicago Police Department, and legal department of the City of Chicago.


LORI LIGHTFOOT:

Mayoral Questionnaire
Security cameras are an important law enforcement tool because they have a deterrent effect and can provide police with invaluable leads to help solve crimes. For instance, the strategic placement of police cameras could have either deterred the mass shootings that took place during the weekend of August 3, 2018, in which 70 people were shot and 12 were killed at outdoor parties, or provided police with leads so they could have made more than one arrest. While I support the use of police cameras, police cameras should not be on every corner and traffic light and they should not be used to replace beat officers.
 
In addition to police cameras, the city has an extensive network of public and private cameras that feed into the Office of Emergency Management and Communications. This extensive camera network is more troubling because there is so little transparency surrounding it and the system amounts to a surveillance state, capable of capturing a person’s daily routine. I am aware of and would look to implement guidelines and recommendations made by the City’s inspector general so that there is oversight and auditing of camera use. Going forward, the city must articulate a rationale for having such a large surveillance network, and if it cannot do so the city should begin to winnow the number of cameras. Additionally, the city must educate the public about this system, explain how it works, tell the public where cameras are located, how data are used, stored and protected, who has access to data, and how the city oversees and monitors the system. The city also must follow the lead of other cities in the United States and conduct periodic audits of the system and its applicable policies.

GARRY McCARTHY:

Mayoral Questionnaire

Unfortunately, we are living in a time when surveillance camera systems and other data collection programs are becoming essential for the safety and security of our homes, businesses, recreational areas and nearly every place where people gather. I would be willing to work with the ACLU to find an effective way to address these concerns. Having said that, I also believe that every institution that employs these surveillance systems needs to stand for an annual audit of how they were used.


SUSANA MENDOZA:

Mayoral Questionnaire

I will work to strike the correct balance between using technology to enhance public safety and protecting citizens’ constitutional rights. Because of Chicago’s history with police surveillance, there has to be strong transparency when it comes to surveillance programs so that citizens understand how and why surveillance tools are being used. I would continue to hold surveillance activities of First Amendment protected activity to high standards, including requiring legal monitoring and oversight by the CPD’s Office of General Counsel. I would also work to develop appropriate retention and privacy parameters so that civil liberties are protected and surveillance data cannot be stolen and misused by nefarious actors.  


TONI PRECKWINKLE:

Mayoral Questionnaire
It is important that individuals understand how surveillance technology is used and in what situations it might be utilized. For instance, cameras should not be surveilling people in private areas, like their home. Use of surveillance technology should be regulated to ensure that individuals are not unjustly targeted or criminalized, especially when use of these technologies are unknown to them. I also support implementing some type of civilian oversight body to promote transparency where surveillance technology is involved.  

NEAL SALES-GRIFFIN:

DID NOT RESPOND.


PAUL VALLAS:

Mayoral Questionnaire
As technology changes and the need for information evolves, it is important to create an institutional process in order to assess and evaluate information related to surveillance. I will create a mechanism, a permanent standing committee, that includes broad representation of organizations, like the ACLU, that oversees the efficacy, impact and utilization of data. The impact on citizens is our foremost concern. 

WILLIE WILSON:

DID NOT RESPOND.