Cubs to Install Security Cameras around Wrigley Field
The Cubs plan to spend $1 million on security cameras near Wrigley Field.
The Chicago Cubs have announced their intent to send the city $1 million to pay for dozens of cameras to be installed around Wrigley Field.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the City Council Budget Committee approved the grant from the team to the city’s office of Emergency Management and Communications, but it could be months before the new cameras are up and running.
"This was the first step in getting these new cameras in place, and it's just another step in the increased attention to the area around the park," Wrigley Field Ald. Tom Tunney, 44th, said. "It's a new day, obviously. There has been a greater security presence around Wrigley Field than I've seen in my 15 years as alderman. The team is financing this part of it as part of their commitment to making Wrigleyville a safer place, and I support it."
The team and city will work together to decide on placement of the cameras, which will cost around $30,000 apiece to buy and install. The video gathered from the new cameras will become part of the OEMC’s citywide network of security cameras.
Tunney said the great majority of the 30 or so additional cameras will be located in the “nexus of Wrigley Field” close to the ballpark, but some will be installed as far as Kennedy Expressway and Lake Shore Drive, which thousands of fans use to get to the games.
The announcement for the security cameras comes days after a suicide bomber detonated a bomb inside Manchester Arena following an Ariana Grande show. Committee Chairman Ald. Carrie Austin said the need for the added security in high-profile public areas is self-evident.