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How Chicago Authorities Keep An Eye On The City

(CBS) 
For example, there is no screening of passengers getting onto commuter trains. Pre-screening passengers is impractical, says mass transportation expert Joe Schofer.

Yet, while the federal government spends about $8 per passenger for aviation security, only four cents per passenger go towards rail safety.

"I think it's disproportional," says Schofer.

Chicago's Metra and other rail lines use bomb-sniffing dogs, but as an undercover investigative report in February by CBS station WBBM pointed out, they are not foolproof. An investigator carrying a bag with components of gunpowder walked by one of these dogs; there was no reaction, not even when the bag was put right in front of the dog.

The kind of terrorism that seems to worry security experts most is bio-chemical and Chicago has already had a close call. Just six months after 9/11, a man was found in a subway tunnel with the ingredients for cyanide gas. Joseph Konopka — who called himself "Dr. Chaos" — had no apparent political agenda. He is now in federal prison.

"How many areas can we be hit by terrorism? Probably more than we could ever protect," says Trotter, who admits no city can prevent all attacks, which is why the response is just as critical.

In Chicago, detailed floor plans of all major buildings are available to all emergency services. Using the 22nd floor of the Sears Tower as an example, Trotter explains, "The responding units then know that there's potentially 100 people on that particular floor."



"We have not only the floor plan, but the actual evacuation procedure on each and every one of those buildings," he adds.

Former Illinois Gov. Jim Thompson, who sat on the 9/11 commission, says he would give Chicago a B for achievement and an A for effort.

Thompson says Chicago – like all American cities — may still have problems with communications among rescue workers.

"The Congress agreed to turn over radio spectrum to first responders so that the police and fire can talk to each other, as they were not able to do in New York. But when do we turn it over? 2009. Why 2009? Why not now?" asks Thompson.

Trotter says he often thinks of 9/11.

"I watch the video of it often because it keeps me focused," he says. "As I see the faces of the public as I walk on the street and we’re responsible for them. And I want them to go on living their lives and feeling comfortable knowing that at night or early in the morning, I’m doing enough worrying for everybody."