Daley Re-Election Bid Touts his Big Brother Surveillance Cameras

My first piece of literature from the Daley re-election campaign arrived the other day. Smack dab on it, front and center, is a photo of the gargantuan surveillance cameras he has installed all over the city.

I'm pretty amazed the cameras have received such a high level of acceptance. These are the ones that Daley has put in the highest crime areas.

(Interestingly, just about a month ago, my sister-in-law drove me by a house she and her husband were seriously considering buying. But, when I saw one of those giant blue light cameras at the intersection closest to the house, I said, "You can't buy here. They only put those in the most crime-ridden neighborhoods. " Now, how is that area supposed to turn itself around economically if the cameras frighten away home buyers and suppress property values and opportunities?)

These are not the smaller, less obvious cameras poised all over the city that snap photos of cars blowing red lights and generate traffic tickets. Those, no doubt, have generated even fewer friends and due to their smaller size, they're even less comfortable. Or, maybe not.


"We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men (and women)."
-- George Orwell

Here's a nice summary at Smart Cameras about the march of camera installations in our city.