The New Chicago Way: The Wholly Surveilled City

A friend sent me a note asking if the recent Automated Speed Enforcement system (ASES) approved by the General Assembly at the behest of Chicago’s Mayor and Police Superintendent would make Lake Shore Drive fully subject to electronic monitoring, since almost the entire lakefront is a public park, and the bill was pitched as enforcing speed limits near parks and schools, “ for the children .” The good news is the answer is no, because Lake Shore Drive is exempted from the enacting legislation, known informally as SB956 . The bad news is that Lake Shore Drive may be the only unmonitored bit of the city. The ASES would not apply to Lake Shore Drive, but it would apply to almost the entire city. Some interesting things about the bill: First, the way it defines an ...