CHICAGO (AP) β Outside police agencies that'll help secure the in Chicago next month will not be posted in city neighborhoods, Police Superintendent Larry Snelling said Thursday 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 this month 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. Theyβll be directing traffic and working at the numerous checkpoints around the convention sites of the United Center and McCormick Place.
βThis will free up our officers, our Chicago police officers, to be in more volatile areas,β Snelling said at a news conference with the U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and city leaders. βWe canβt have a successful Democratic National Convention, if weβre not protecting the entire city as a whole.β
All Chicago police officers have 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 nationβs third-largest city are bracing for the convention which is expected to draw roughly 50,000 visitors. Convention planners have been to accommodate a new nominee since that he was dropping out of the race. Momentum has been building for Vice President Kamala Harris as the new Democratic .
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. The U.S. Secret Service reiterated its safety blueprint ahead of the RNC, which came just after the on former President Donald Trump, and again on Thursday.
βWe have reviewed the security plan for the DNC and remain confident,β 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 roughly 1,000 attendees downtown and there were few arrests. Chicago police have while the Circuit Court of Cook County said itβs making adjustments like opening an extra facility in case of mass arrests.
Activists have been with the city over where they can demonstrate, rejecting city plans to put them near a lakefront park roughly 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) 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 Thursday that details were being finalized to allow protests βwithin sight and sound of the United Center.β
Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city is prepared for the βhistoric conventionβ 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 ahead of the convention.
βLet me state this unequivocally," he said. βChicago is ready.β
Sophia Tareen, The Associated Press
