Chicago’s failed socialist mayor Lori Lightfoot is in charge of a violently unrest city. She may withhold details from the public and media in an effort to conceal her appalling record.
Local media are criticizing Lightfoot for the city’s choice to switch from conventional police scanners to an encrypted radio frequency.
A number of regional news organizations have signed a letter voicing their worries that the encrypted system will make journalists’ access to crucial, urgent information regarding safety issues impossible because it will be inaccessible to the general public.
The Chicago media has expressed concern that the mayor’s administration’s refusal to meet with them may hinder their capacity to cover events as they happen and alert the public to ongoing safety issues.
“We are a coalition of Chicago-area news organizations concerned with this planned encryption and are sharing our concerns to raise awareness about how the City’s plan will impact our ability to provide timely, accurate and potentially life-saving news to you.”
The letter also makes mention of a shooting that occurred last week in broad daylight outside a courthouse and police station in Chicago. More than 40 rounds were fired by the attacker, who then fled. The media groups who wrote the letter claimed that the new system prevented the public from seeing, hearing, or reading about the crime while it was occurring.
The news outlets also brought up another event in which a man walking through a Chicago neighborhood with a rifle was shot by police but the media was unable to broadcast it in real time.
The media personnel are concerned that the delay may endanger the public during rapidly developing incidents like active shooter situations, bomb scares, or fires.
They assert that despite numerous attempts to contact officials, Lightfoot and her administration have declined to meet with the media in person to discuss the matter.
