Orwellian Chicago

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A car circles a high-rise three times. Someone leaves a backpack in a park.

Such things go unnoticed in big cities every day. But that could change in Chicago with a new video surveillance system that would recognize such anomalies and alert authorities to take a closer look.

On Thursday, the city and IBM Corp. are announcing the initial phase of what officials say could be the most advanced video security network in any U.S. city. The City of Broad Shoulders is getting eyes in the back of its head.

"Chicago is really light years ahead of any metropolitan area in the U.S. now," said Sam Docknevich, who heads video-surveillance consulting for IBM.

Back when I was working in sales, I'd go around the block about eight times looking for the exact address. With people on your bumper, people walking in front of the car, and cars slamming on their brakes in front of you, it isn't always easy to find the exact address. They're nuts if they're going to check on someone simply because they circled the block three times.