Mayor Daley, Chicago Public Schools Officials Accept Donation of Security Cameras for 40 High Schools from Chase

Mayor Richard M. Daley said today that Chase is donating $2.25 million to provide 90 state-of-the-art security cameras at 40 public high school campuses across the city.

The cameras will be installed outside the high schools and send live feeds to Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications Center.

“It’s a great source of our city’s strength that we have businesses such as Chase that continually demonstrate their commitment to our city,” Daley said in a news conference with Chicago Public Schools and Chase officials held at Walter H. Dyett High School, 555 E 51st St., one of the schools that will receive cameras. (Chase also donated a calculator for every student at Dyett.)

“Today’s donation truly gets to the heart of the matter: keeping our young people safe from violence,” the Mayor said.

Over the last four years, Chase has donated more than $15 million to help Chicago area students - everything from developing principals and teachers and supporting math, science and social science curriculum and teachers to rewarding hard-working students with college scholarships.

“The city, the schools and the police all told us that safety at schools is a top priority right now and that these cameras can be a huge help,” said Amy Fahey, president of Commercial Banking in Chicago for Chase. “We want Chicago’s students to be able to focus on their studies.”

Chase worked with school and Chicago Police Department officials to identify the campuses that could benefit most greatly from the addition of security cameras.

“Chase’s generosity could not have come at a better time for our students,” said Ron Huberman, Chief Executive Officer of Chicago Public Schools. “When families worry about safety, they often keep their children home from school, so they miss crucial learning time. Outdoor cameras have improved security -- and learning - and now we can expand the program.”

“As I have said many times before, the most troubling and frustrating challenge our city faces today is the brutal violence that is killing our children,” Daley said.

“It is the shared responsibility of every person and institution in Chicago to keep our young people safe so they can go to school, learn and achieve their potential in life,” he said.

The Mayor said that over the past several years, one of the most important ways the City has helped to protect students has been the safety cameras that have been installed in and around school buildings.

Last year, Chicago became the first city in the nation to have a comprehensive school security camera network when the school system, the police department and the Office of Emergency Management and Communications developed a partnership that makes it possible to respond more quickly and effectively to any emergency at a school.

“We all wish we could be beside our children every moment of the day and every day of the week. But, we can’t. Security cameras give us another set of eyes to keep track of who’s coming and going from the school and what’s going on inside schools,” Daley said.

The Mayor said that protecting the City’s young people must be Chicago’s shared crusade.

“Each of us -- our parents, our schools, our community and religious groups -- has a responsibility to our children to protect them. Chase has stepped up and accepted that responsibility once again. Its generosity and commitment to our City should serve as model for all of us,” Daley said.