Outside police agencies that will help secure the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August will not be posted in city neighborhoods, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said recently, as federal authorities released maps of convention security perimeters.
The renewed attention on out-of-town police comes after Ohio officers in Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention earlier in July fatally shot a man at a park not far from the downtown convention site.
As many as 500 officers, mostly from Illinois agencies, will travel to Chicago to boost DNC security. They’ll be directing traffic and working at the numerous checkpoints around the convention sites of the United Center and McCormick Place.
“This will free up our officers, our Chicago police officers, to be in more volatile areas,” Snelling said at a news conference with the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Governor J.B. Pritzker, and city leaders. “We can’t have a successful Democratic National Convention, if we’re not protecting the entire city as a whole.”
All Chicago police officers have received training related to constitutional policing ahead of the convention. Snelling said those coming to Chicago for the convention will receive 8 to 12 hours on city policies and expectations.
Residents in the nation’s third-largest city are bracing for the convention which is expected to draw roughly 50,000 visitors. Convention planners have been scrambling to accommodate a new nominee since President Joe Biden’s announcement that he was dropping out of the race. Momentum has been building for Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic nominee.
But Snelling said no changes have been made to the security plan. The maps outline the security perimeters, including streets that will be closed to traffic.
Federal law enforcement agencies said they have been preparing for over a year. Lucas Rothaar, FBI Chicago Acting Special Agent in Charge, said no known threats have been made related to the convention.
“We have reviewed the security plan for the DNC and remain confident,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Derek Mayer.
Protests in Chicago are expected to be bigger and more spread out than in Milwaukee, where the largest event drew just around 1,000 attendees downtown and there were few arrests. Chicago police have changed their mass arrest policy while the Circuit Court of Cook County said it was making adjustments like opening an extra facility in case of mass arrests.
Activists have been at odds with the city over where they can demonstrate, rejecting city plans to put them near a lakefront park roughly 3 miles from the West Side convention site. But in recent weeks, both sides have been in talks for a closer location.
Chicago Department of Transportation Commissioner Tom Hardy said that details were being finalized to allow protests “within sight and sound of the United Center.”
Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city is prepared for the “historic convention” in all aspects from security to beautification projects like planting flowers and painting light poles. Chicago has also made a controversial decision to move a homeless encampment ahead of the convention.
“Let me state this unequivocally,” he said. “Chicago is ready.”
