Project Shield: Homeland Security Program Riddled With Problems

By Gideon Swift | Published: November 2, 2008

It’s called Project Shield and will cost you more than $40 million when it’s done, leaving U.S. taxpayers footing the bill for a countywide high-tech surveillance program. So why is the homeland security project busted?

Police sources told CBS 2′s Dave Savini that taxpayers got ripped off and that all the cameras and software in the world are meaningless if they don’t work.

CBS 2 Investigators sifted through government contracts and confidential emails revealing how Project Shield’s pot of money was dished out. The trail led to bankrupt companies, phony addresses and falsified documents — not the words you want to hear when talking about terrorism and your tax dollars.

Project Shield continues to be touted as a state-of-the-art video surveillance system. Federal tax dollars paid for it to be installed in squad cars and on towers throughout Cook County.

“It’s a waste of taxpayer money,” said East Hazel Crest Police Chief Ray Robertson. “I can’t get it to work on a daily basis.”

Despite numerous critics and complaints, Cook County Board President Todd Stroger has been defending its $40 million dollar price tag.

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