Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, in an effort to deal with safety issues, has proposed a citywide ordinance that would require bars and nightclubs open until 4 a.m. to install security cameras that are able to identify patrons as they enter and exit establishments.
Actually, it will not just be taverns and dance clubs that will have to have them. Other businesses open longer than 12 hours a day, including neighborhood convenience stores, eventually would have to do the same.
The measure is just the latest in a trend involving various cities. Milwaukee is considering requiring cameras at stores that have called police three or more times in a year, according to USA Today. In addition, the Baltimore ( Md. ) County Council ordered large malls to put cameras in parking areas after a murder in one garage last year.
However, not everyone is joining the bandwagon: Schenectady, N.Y., turned down a proposal that would have put cameras in convenience stores.
'The safer we make the city, the better it is for everyone,' Chicago Ald. Ray Suarez, who first proposed mandatory cameras in some businesses, told the newspaper. 'If you're not doing anything wrong, what do you have to worry about?'
Andrew Ariens, communications director of the Illinois Restaurant Association, agrees with Suarez, telling Windy City Times that the organization is in favor of the proposal. 'The cameras would create more of a safe environment and the police would be able to work together [ with the businesses ] ,' he said. 'They can see whatever goes on that's of a sordid nature.'
With LGBT spots, though, there is another issue. Closeted individuals who frequent gay and lesbian nightspots would risk having their orientations revealed—cameras would almost certainly cause those people to alter their behavior, whether it would be frequenting spots with regular hours or not going to bars at all.
Bill Greaves of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations' Advisory Council on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues can see both sides of the issue, although he ultimately believes that security cameras could do more harm than good. 'They could help police solve violent crimes,' he told Windy City Times. 'However, there's the question about privacy for people who go to bars and there's also the question of whether the federal government could demand tapes and use them against, for example, military personnel [ in enforcing the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy ] . Servicemembers regularly come to Chicago's gay bars from Great Lakes [ Naval Training Center ] . Ultimately, you have to wonder what adverse affect this would have on people's privacy.'
On March 24, a meeting took place that involved, among others, Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th Ward, and Gene Schulter, 47th Ward; LGBT bar owners; and Scott Bruner, director of the mayor's License and Local Liquor Control Commission. Schulter said that the meeting was 'very productive.' He added that the nightclub owners 'helped sensitize others to the issues that the gay community is facing, [ such as ] bars being social centers. Sometimes, it takes months for people to feel comfortable in these settings and cameras could [ cause problems ] .'
Schulter—who is also the chair of the City Council Committee on License and Consumer Protection—also said that the bar owners' views had the other attendees emerging with the feeling that 'the proposal should be studied more.' He suggested that some other type of security measure be used for at least a couple of reasons: ' [ First, ] we don't want people from Homeland Security or the military outing people. [ Also, ] there are 219 four o'clock licenses in this city. If 25 percent are problematic, why go after the other 75 percent? These are important issues to me because the gay community is at the forefront of my concerns.'
It seems that the issue of security cameras in late-night clubs is one that will have the lens turned on itself for some time.
