Chicago police prepare for busy summer ahead of Memorial Day weekend – NBC Chicago

Chicago police officers have been getting out of their patrol cars and walking in groups down Michigan Avenue to interact with residents and tourists. The change had been requested by many who are concerned about how busy the city is sure to be during the summer.

“I was happy to see these great young new police officers out there on patrol. But yes, safety is important in Chicago,” said Pastor Bill Ellis of Morgan Park, who was with Justin Edwards.

In addition to the festivals and parades taking place this season, Chicago police will also face additional security challenges this year. The Democratic National Convention will bring thousands of delegates, politicians and protesters to the United Center and McCormick Place.

“We’ve had a lot of practice in dealing with large events like this in the last few months alone,” CPD Captain David Koenig told a packed auditorium at a town hall meeting organized by the Streeterville Organization of Active Residents (SOAR). “Combined with the training we’ve received so far for field operations, I’m confident that we as a department will do an excellent job of handling these protests,” Koenig said.

2nd District Councilman Brian Hopkins said the city should expect disruptions in the run-up to the convention. “They’re going to engage in civil disobedience. We saw a preview of that when they shut down Interstate 90 on the way to O’Hare,” he said. “I think that was a test, a test of what they can do, and it was duly noted.”

Hopkins said the city will also rely on technology such as license plate readers and a new helicopter in its security efforts. “This will work in conjunction with our strategic decision support centers, our network of police surveillance cameras and license plate readers, which are extraordinarily valuable tools,” he said.

Another problem for police is large gatherings of youth, often organized on social media. Koenig said officers would monitor so-called “teen takeovers” and take immediate action if they detect criminal activity. They would also enforce a curfew for youth starting at 10 p.m.

“Nobody wants to put a bunch of kids in jail. Nobody wants that. But if you show that bad actions have consequences, you’ll see those bad actions stop,” said Brendan Reilly, mayor of the 42nd District, whose district includes part of Streeterville.

Pastor Edwards said he and Pastor Ellis are concerned about safety downtown, but want to make sure people across the city are safe. They said young people can be the key to that.

“I have great hopes that with protection from violence in the wild and prevention of gun violence, we will be sure that we have mature people and that we will not have the same problems that we had last summer,” Edwards said.

The city’s Department of Emergency Management and Communications said it will activate its summer operations center this weekend and all weekends through Labor Day.