The 25th summit of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will be held in Chicago next month, and city dwellers are battening down for the onslaught with mixed feelings.
“We are excited, but we are a little nervous too about what might happen,” Justin Lyons, director of communications for the Chicago Architecture Foundation told The Epoch Times, “I think the entire city is embracing it, but cautiously embracing it.”
The summit will see 50 heads of state and government descend upon the Windy City from May 19–21. Along with officials and ensuing media, approximately 10,000 people are expected.
Protesters are also expected through groups like Occupy Chicago, hacking group Anonymous, and the Coalition Against NATO/G8 War & Poverty Agenda (CANG8). A joint People’s Summit will be held in Chicago the week prior, with a rally at Daley Plaza, May 20, followed by a march through the city to the summit venue, McCormick Place Convention Center, just outside the main city loop.
A YouTube video, allegedly from Anonymous, is calling for 50,000 protesters to come to Chicago for the entire month of May.
“We will set up tents, barricades, kitchens, and peacefully occupy Chicago for one month,” the video post says.
Security Tight
Security forces have also been preparing. Melissa Stratton, director of news affairs for the Chicago Police Department, said officers have been trained by the Center for Domestic Preparedness as part of national security protocol for an event of NATO’s magnitude.
“Training has been designed to provide our officers with knowledge of tactical, logistical, and legal issues relevant to hosting these special events, and also to improve understanding of the dynamics of crowd management, and First Amendment activity,” Ms. Stratton said.
