- The streets around the city's downtown federal buildings will see a noticeable increase in security — including officers in battle dress — as early as next week as the city prepares for the May 20-21 NATO summit.
The Federal Protective Service, which secures federal buildings, this week informed tenants of the city's federal buildings that they would have personnel patrolling the streets as early as next week.
The officers were expected to be in battle dress and carrying non-lethal weapons, according to several sources who were not authorized to speak publicly.
Rumors also abound about an immigration march the first week of May, the regular communist rabble around May Day, and spontaneous wildcat parades on tap all month.
The Chicago Police Department also released a statement:
- "The security perimeter and overall event plan are under the auspices of the United States Secret Service, with support from a variety of federal, state and local partners, including the Chicago Police Department," the statement said. "Federal Protective Services does not have a direct security role during the NATO summit. Federal Protective Services is in charge of securing their buildings, some of which are on or nearby the anticipated routes of permitted events such as parades and protests that will take place during the summit."
We imagine that part of the action will be on game day.