An alliance of seven Chicago news outlets has taken its concern about the city's plan to suppress police scanner activity to the public, publishing an open letter Tuesday to the Windy City's readers, viewers, and listeners.
According to WGN 9, Chicago's police department and Office of Emergency Management (OEM) have begun transitioning to encrypted radio frequencies so the public can no longer listen to police activity in real time.
Chicago media outlets have decried the change, saying it will impact journalists' ability to warn the public about safety threats in real time and cover events as they occur. Mayor Lori Lightfoot's administration reportedly has refused to meet with members of the Chicago media to discuss their concerns.
The letter references a daytime shooting last week at a Chicago courthouse and police district where the perpetrator fired more than 40 shots and escaped. The media's letter said the public did not learn about the crime as it was happening because of the new police scanner system.
"The City of Chicago prevented you from knowing about this dangerous incident by blocking all live scanner transmissions," the letter reads. "This jeopardized the lives of everyone at that police department, everyone at that courthouse, everyone on that expressway."
The news organizations also referenced another incident they were not able to report in real-time — a man armed with a rifle walked through a Chicago neighborhood around dinnertime, "as people returned home from work and children returned home from school." He later was shot by police.
"We reached out to officials to ask that accredited members of the press be granted access to the newly encrypted channels, but the City responded that both the press and the public would only be provided access on a 30-minute delay," the news outlets wrote.
"We strongly believe that any scanner transmission delay will negatively impact public safety and could put lives in jeopardy when mere seconds matter, for example, during an active shooter event, a tornado, a fire, a bomb scare, a plane crash; virtually any emergency event where the public might need to seek safety or shelter.”
The Chicago Sun Times reported that the dispute is coming to a head because the city’s year-end deadline for switching all police channels to an encrypted form is fast approaching.
In an email Friday, city OEM spokesperson Mary May told the Sun Times the rollout is expected to continue through early 2023.
The letter was signed by CBS 2 Chicago, NBC 5 Chicago, ABC 7 Chicago, WGN-TV, Fox 32 Chicago, the Chicago Sun Times, and the Chicago Tribune.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.