Chicago tests new siren warning system

UPI | May 4 2005

Comment: This is nothing more than outright fearmongering. This will be the clarion call for introducing mandatory curfews. If you're out when the sirens are wailing, the nice men in black ski masks will be sure to find you a comfortable bed in the nearest 'internment facility.'

CLICK HERE to watch a local news report of the siren testing.

All 112 sirens wailed loudly in Chicago Tuesday as the city tested a new system to warn residents of impending danger or catastrophic events.

The sirens are part of a system that breaks into radio and television broadcasts to alert people of an emergency. The city had air-raid sirens for decades and used earlier sirens to warn of potentially dangerous weather conditions.

The new system will alert the population of any impending disaster from a tornado or flood to a biological or terrorist attack.

Late Mayor Richard J. Daley caused a panic in 1959 by ordering the city's sirens to wail when the Chicago White Sox last won the American League pennant.

"Today, we're going to be expanding the siren for all public emergencies, we call it all hazard," said Ron Huberman, director of the Department of Emergency Management and Communications. "Two main things are to take shelter and tune in."