Radio silence ahead

President Barack Obama could end up costing his hometown a pretty penny in the name of deficit reduction. Thanks to a last-minute move by Washington to take away the city's best radio frequencies and sell them to the highest bidder, Chicago will have to scrap its long-term plan to improve emergency communications for police, fire and other public safety personnel.

A new $23 million digital radio network for the Chicago Fire Department that was expected to last at least 20 years will have to be junked in a decade. If all of Chicago's transmitters and mobile equipment have to be replaced—as now appears likely—”the cost will skyrocket to the $200 million range,” the city says. Auction proceeds are supposed to cover the price of new equipment for government use, but they won't go toward equipment that will become prematurely obsolete. Making matters worse, Chicago and other big cities have no Plan B to improve their radio systems and enable first responders from different agencies to communicate with each other, a critical goal since the 2001 terrorist attacks.