The new security cameras will round out the promised 1,500 extra security cameras at various train stations around the city. more ›

The city's getting even more surveillance cameras, thanks to a federal grant. more ›

312 Dining Diva tipped us off to this one. Paul Kahan, of Blackbird, managed to get through airport security with a LOT of knives. He tweeted: "Flew outa ohare today. Forgot I had four huge chefs knives in carry on bag. Got patted down for wallet. Knives went through." Thank goodness for the TSA keeping our skies so safe. Maybe if he'd been carrying a 4-ounce bottle of olive oil, they would've gotten him. more ›

Yesterday we posted about a Sun-Times expose that looked at who in city, county and state government has a security detail, and the cost to taxpayers. The story listed the four city officials currently receiving bodyguard details as Mayor Daley, 14th Ward Alderman Edward Burke, City Treasurer Stephanie Neely, and a fourth official the Police Department refused to disclose. Today, the Sun-Times identified the fourth official. more ›

The Sun-times published an interesting piece today where they reviewed the taxpayer costs of security details for city, county and state officials. It's interesting as to the costs of these security details, but also who receives them. Let's take a look, shall we? more ›

Morning, all. One note about the comment gremlins that have been affecting the entire Gothamist network the past few days. As you've probably seen by now, we are no longer accepting comments using an Ist-a-verse login. Our tech crew thought that this would probably be the best way to keep the system stable and secure. more ›

Midway Airport is going to get one full body scanner, purchased with federal stimulus funds, per Chicago Breaking News. more ›

Whistleblowing information clearinghouse Wikileaks began releasing over a quarter million documents on Sunday. The documents contain cables between the U.S. State Department and 274 other embassies, consulates and diplomatic missions across the globe dating as far back as 1966. The data dump is seven times larger than “The Iraq War Logs,” the last information release from Wikileaks. So far, the website has released a few hundred documents to the New York Times, the Guardian UK and other news organizations, who then removed names and other items that could put individuals at risk. more ›

A suspicious call made to Columbia College Chicago over the weekend led to the closing of one of their campus buildings at 618 S. Michigan until 5 p.m. today. We'll be following this story for further updates. more ›

Ahmed Mohammed Nasser al Soofi and Hezam al Musri, the two men arrested Monday in Amsterdam for having "suspicious items" in their luggage on a flight from O'Hare, will not be charged with plotting a future terror attack, sources close to the FBI investigation told the Associated Press yesterday. The FBI investigation into the two men found that they do not know each other, the suspicious items found in al Soofi's luggage were not being used for a "dry bomb run," and that al Soofi's and al Musri's change of flight plans to catch direct flights from Chicago to Amsterdam was coincidental. more ›

Amsterdam authorities arrested two men on terrorism charges after they were allowed to fly out of O'Hare Airport with "suspicious items" in their checked luggage. The men, identified as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al Soofi, of Detroit, MI., and Hezam al Murisi, were allowed to board United Airlines Flight 908 to Amsterdam after the items were found, but deemed not dangerous in and of themselves, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. more ›

Chicago is leading the charge into a brave new world of cities under constant surveillance. The Associated Press (via the Tribune) reports that Chicago has the most surveillance cameras in the United States, with more than 10,000 public and private cameras throughout the city. The cameras, on everything from street sweepers to red lights are linked together via Chicago’s 911 system. While exact numbers aren’t available the Trib estimates around 1,500 cameras have been installed by emergency services, 6,500 installed in schools and the rest are scattered throughout various public and private facilities. Michael Chertoff, former Homeland Security secretary of the system: “I don’t think there is another city in the U.S. that has as an extensive and integrated camera network.” more ›

• A former O'Hare security chief is speaking out about how unsecure the airport is.
• Note to Blago: they're laughing AT you, not with you.
• The Reader's Whet Moser nails the Chicago Now vs Mike Doyle feud.

Since his election in 2008, the city has spent $3.5 million on security for President Obama, including police escorts and the security detail outside his South Side home. While the feds claim the city is being reimbursed, ABC 7 reports that the city is still owed almost $1.6 million. The city turned over security duties for the Obama home to the Secret Service. more ›

It's about to be one of - if not the - busiest travel weeks of the year, so it must also be time for a news station to ring the alarm on holes in security at our local airports. This time Fox 32 found they were able to fly out several employees to destinations around the country without any of them having to show a government-issued photo ID. Instead, they were able to get through by showing the name on their boarding pass matched that of the name on a credit card. Of course, there's nothing technically illegal about such a maneuver. As Fox itself explains: more ›

Come October 1, you'll notice fewer police cars near the Obama family's South Side home. the Chicago Police Department announced they would be ending their security details at the home after ongoing discussions with the Secret Service. However, spokesman Roderick Drew said the CPD will still have some sort of presence at the house. According to the Tribune, the CPD has spent $2.2 million (through July of this year) on the security detail at the house of which $1.5 million will be reimbursed. more ›

More than 30 people were arrested at the Taste of Chicago and around Grant Park Friday, according to Chicago Breaking News and Sun-Times reports. Of that number, four were arrested for carrying guns (including a 15-year-old male with a sawed-off shotgun in his backpack) and two were arrested for carrying knives. Only two people were arrested on Saturday for misdemeanor charges, according to the Sun-Times. The first gun arrest for the 2009 Taste happened last Saturday, the Sun-Times reports. more ›

Metra trains will soon have additional federal security on board. Metra insists the new plan is not in response to any threat but rather for the benefit of passengers.

The TSA patrols will "augment existing security resources, provide deterrent presence and detection capabilities, and introduce an element of unpredictability to disrupt potential terrorist planning activities," Metra said in a statement. more ›

It appears that Chicago Police Department's efforts to increase security at this year's Taste of Chicago is working: a man was arrested as he attempted to bring a loaded gun into the festival on Saturday. Police said they were "acting on a tip" when they found a "9mm handgun on Shrome D. George," according to the Tribune. The 25-year-old Michigan City, Ind. resident has been charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and other weapons charges; he has a bond hearing today. more ›

After last year's shoot-out at the OK Corral in the Loop following the fireworks at the Taste of Chicago, and Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis being raked over the coals for it, police aren't taking any chances this year and are upping security. According to Chicago Breaking News, some of the measures will include: more ›

Mayor Daley loves cameras. Be it red light cameras, street sweeping cameras, or surveillance cameras, he can't seem to get enough of them. So he must be thrilled after last night's "unveiling" of 200 new security cameras placed around Navy Pier. The new $4.2 million monitoring system comes from IBM and, in a way, makes sense as Navy Pier is one of the city's top tourist attractions; Crain's says 8.3 million people visited in 2008. Or maybe Mayor Daley just wants to keep an eye on all those commies over at WBEZ (we kid!). The system, which was installed in February, has already proved useful. more ›

Yesterday, we looked at the Chicago Police Department's efforts with President-Elect Barack Obama's security team and the cost (covered by the federal government) of the extra man hours. Looking to deflect the whisperings of criticism, Mayor Daley took to the press to defend the work being done to protect Obama and the benefit to Chicago. As usual, we can't do his words justice so we'll let him speak for himself:

This is a great honor…We’re excited about him being here. This is his transition. He could go to Washington, D.C…He’s not going to buy right into Washington. He’s here and he has people from all walks of life coming here. It is putting us on a global map more than anything else... more ›

If you work in the Loop, particularly in the vicinity of the Kluczynski Federal Building (230 S. Dearborn) you've probably noticed a heavy police presence thanks to President-Elect Barack Obama, who has a temporary office in the building while he waits to move into his new official office. And while the city certainly celebrated Obama's election victory a few weeks ago, more people are growing a little frustrated with immense security. more ›

UIC officials have arrested a 24-year-old student after she allegedly sent out e-mails threatening violence on the West Loop Campus. The e-mail apparently went out Friday afternoon, and an eventual recipient was a senior administrator who reported the e-mail to police. According to a university spokesperson, the e-mail threatened violence in the spring. more ›

Word to the wise: try to keep from talking to yourself, sweating excessively or hyperventilating the next time you pass through security at O'Hare. [] In light of this fall's news that TSA screeners had missed about 60 % of hidden bomb materials that were sneaked through security by tiger teams at O'Hare, the TSA is upgrading its strategy and employing new "psychological tactics." Sounds creepy, right? Really, it just means that screeners are now on the lookout for strange behavior. more ›