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Office 312.251.1000 | mandellmenkes.com

Steven P. Mandell
Direct Dial: 312-251-1001
E-mail: smandell@mandellmenkes.com

July 21, 2022

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL

Kate LeFurgy
Director of Communications
City of Chicago
121 N. LaSalle Street
Chicago City Hall 4th Floor
Chicago, IL 60602
Kate.LeFurgy@cityofchicago.org

RE: Proposal for news media access to encrypted CPD and CFD scanner transmissions

Dear Ms. LeFurgy:

I write to you on behalf of a coalition of media companies (the “Coalition”) who are
trusted and established news organizations that have delivered the news to the citizens of
Chicago for many years. The Coalition is comprised of television stations CBS Channel 2, NBC
Channel 5, ABC Channel 7, WGN Channel 9, and Fox Channel 32 and the Chicago Sun-Times
and the Chicago Tribune newspapers. It was formed in the wake of a decision by the City of
Chicago (the “City”) to encrypt the transmissions of Chicago Police and Fire Department
scanners – transmissions that have previously been available to the public at large and the news
media for decades.

As you know, representatives from many of the Coalition members attended a virtual
meeting that the City hosted on July 8, 2022. During that meeting, the City explained that the
move to an encrypted system became necessary because expanded technological capabilities had
allowed a few bad actors to intrude upon and disrupt analog transmissions with offensive
language or music and use the system to initiate bogus emergency calls or attempt to call off
legitimate ones. In response, the Coalition expressed concern that the City’s decision to encrypt
previously public scanner transmissions and otherwise delay the media’s access to such
transmissions would impinge on the Coalition’s ability to fulfill its obligation to deliver up-to-
the-minute news reports to the public on matters of legitimate public concern.1 The Coalition
would note that recent events in Highland Park, Illinois and Uvalde, Texas underscore the
importance of having a local media that is contemporaneously informed about breaking news
and emergencies.

1
For broadcast members of the Coalition, this obligation is mandated by the FCC.
 Ms. Kate LeFurgy
July 21, 2022
Page 2 of 3

You acknowledged that the City had no indication that anyone from the news media had
been responsible for any of the disruptive activities, and you invited us to submit a proposal
under which the media would continue to receive contemporaneous access to scanner
transmissions even though the City has begun to encrypt the transmissions preventing
contemporaneous access by the public at large. The Coalition’s proposal is discussed below.

Again, in explaining why the City has planned its move to encrypted transmissions, City
officials have thus far failed to articulate any concerns that stem from the media’s access to the
system. Although officials have expressed concerns over some disturbing conduct (such as the
initiation of false alarms), none of those concerns have arisen from the news media’s use of or
access to the unencrypted transmissions.

In response to the Coalition’s request that access to the encrypted scanner system be
provided to journalists, the only concern you expressed regarding the media’s access to the
transmissions is the difficulty of defining “news media” for the purposes of scanner access,
characterizing the endeavor as embarking on “a slippery slope.” However, the City has already
put in place a system requiring news media entities to go through a credentialing process, and we
believe that process offers useful guidance for how to define “news media.” Indeed, pursuant to
4-328-010 of the Municipal Code “No person shall be eligible to gain access to areas reserved
for the news media for the purpose of gathering and editing spot news or photographing news
events unless such person is a legal holder of a news media credential as provided herein….”
The same section of the Code defines “news media” as:

[A] newspaper or other periodical issued at regular intervals whether in print or electronic
format, a news service whether in print or electronic format, a radio station, a television
station, a television network, a community antenna television service, or a person or
corporation engaged in making news reels or other motion picture news for public
showing.2

The Coalition respectfully suggests that the definition of “news media” in Section 4-328-
010 simply be adopted to determine which entities can have real-time access to the encrypted
transmissions. By adopting the same credentialing protocol and utilizing the same definition of
“news media” for the purposes of allowing access to encrypted transmissions, the City can
continue with its plans for encryption while still allowing members of the Coalition – and some
other non-Coalition members who would qualify for credentials under the City’s own existing
protocols – to continue to have access to real-time information on breaking news. Of course, in
the extremely unlikely event that a credentialed member of the news media were to improperly
interfere with scanner transmissions, the City would have the ability to revoke its credentials and
therefore its access, just as it could revoke access to areas reserved to the news media under
Section 4-328-010. At bottom, the Coalition proposes using the existing definition of “news

2
https://home.chicagopolice.org/communications-division/news-media-credentials/applicable-municipal-code-for-
media-credentials/
 Ms. Kate LeFurgy
July 21, 2022
Page 3 of 3

media” in the Municipal Code to provide a space for access to encrypted communications in the
same way that the City now provides access to physical spaces reserved for the news media.

With such a regime in place, the City will be able to effectively encrypt its channels and
prevent intrusion into transmissions, prevent technological disruptions to the scanner system
caused by rogue actors, and prevent the interference with emergency calls over the scanner
system, or “10-1s.” At the same time, the Coalition will be able to maintain the access it has
historically had to police and fire department transmissions and will continue to access
information it needs to serve the public.

We look forward to hearing from you in response to this proposal.

Sincerely,

Steven P. Mandell