Planes taking pictures of Cook County land and property in 'Pictometry' study

If you notice a plane flying overhead in May right here in Cook County, there is a chance you could be on camera. Certain planes flying between the first week of May and Memorial Day are conducting an aerial survey that includes taking digital photographs of land in Cook County.

In late 2017, the Cook County Board of Commissioners, County Administrator Jeff Cadwell and staff from the county’s I.T. department explained the value and benefits of a digital land survey the county wanted to update in 2018. Rogers explained that numerous county departments, including the highway, assessor and sheriff’s departments, could all benefit from an updated land survey.

The study will cover an area of 1,134 sq. miles, including most, or perhaps all, private land in Cook County. It will not include land inside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The county partnered with several other local governments and organizations, including the U.S. Forest Service, to pay for the services EagleView is providing.

In this interview, WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs speaks with Dean Larson, a district manager for EagleView, the company recently hired to do aerial survey work to capture digital images of the land in Cook County.