Statement on Ordinance 02025-0018186: A Dangerous Expansion of Surveillance Power
Date:
July 1, 2025
As members of the Police District Councils, we are raising serious concerns about the proposed addition of Section 4-4-075 to the Municipal Code. This ordinance would mandate that all licensed businesses open to the public install and maintain surveillance cameras and require them to turn over footage to city departments upon request, under terms that are vague and dangerously lacking in oversight.
The language of the ordinance authorizes departments such as the Chicago Police Department (CPD), the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), and the Office of Public Safety Administration to issue orders “in the form of a subpoena.”
“The department or office may issue an order, in the form of a subpoena…” (Section d)
But nowhere in the ordinance does it clearly state that these subpoenas require judicial approval. This ambiguity raises the alarming possibility that city agencies could issue administrative subpoenas—effectively granting themselves the authority to demand footage without a court order, judicial review, or meaningful oversight.
This represents a dangerous expansion of surveillance power. Small business owners could be compelled to hand over private footage with little recourse. Those who object might be forced to appeal directly to the agency making the demand or enter into a costly and time-consuming legal battle.
Additionally, the installation, maintenance, storage and distribution of footage is an unreasonable and unacceptable burden to mandate on small businesses already struggling to survive. The associated costs can easily get into the hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars yearly with no stated process for reimbursement.
It’s important to note that OEMC already offers Chicagoans the option to voluntarily register their cameras for public safety purposes. There is no justification for shifting from a voluntary system to a mandatory one that threatens civil liberties, especially when our small businesses are doing everything they can to stay in their communities and serve their neighbors.
Beyond the legal and economic concerns, we must address the broader implications. Chicagoans, particularly in Black and Brown communities, have seen time and again how surveillance tools introduced in the name of safety are later used to justify harmful patterns of policing and criminalization.
At a time when federal agencies like ICE continue to commit unprecedented civil rights violations, we cannot afford to expand surveillance infrastructure that could be accessed or exploited to further harm our most vulnerable residents. This ordinance opens the door to deeper invasions of privacy and erodes community trust, without clear safeguards to prevent misuse or limit access by agencies that have historically used such information to terrorize our communities.
Public safety cannot be reduced by camera footage or constant monitoring. Expanding government monitoring without accountability does nothing to build trust, it deepens fear and distances communities from the institutions meant to serve them.
We are calling on all members of the Progressive Caucus and all City Council members who claim to support small businesses to immediately withdraw their support for this ordinance, and to vote against it should it come to the floor. Any public safety measure of this scale should not move forward without serious public discussion, engagement with potentially impacted communities, and a full understanding of its long-term consequences.
Chicagoans deserve more than the illusion of safety—they deserve a public safety system rooted in trust, equity, and real community investment, not one that demands they trade their civil liberties for increased surveillance.
Signed,
Leonardo Quintero, 12th District Council
Dion McGill, 7th District Council
Elianne Bahena, 10th District Council
Rosemarie Dominguez, 10th District Council
Elizabeth A. Rochford, 17th District Councilor
Erin Vogel, 9th District Council
Ashley Vargas. 14th District Council
Anna Rubin, 20th District Council
Alexander Perez, 2nd District Council
Dr. Deondre Rutues, 15th District
Council Keola (Keo) Jean-Joseph, 24th District Council
Angelica Green, 25th District Council
Deirdre O’Connor, 20th District Council
Alees Edwards, 11th District Council
Chloe Vitale, 12th District Council