Public transit riders will see a stepped-up police presence as Chicago prepares for the upcoming Democratic National Convention — but not some of the more stringent security measures that have characterized past political events in the city.
Along with extra officers on the CTA and at downtown Metra stations, there could be service disruptions on the Metra Electric line that runs near McCormick Place, one of the convention sites. But the CTA has no plans to boost the number of private, unarmed security guards it uses to patrol the system. And Metra expects to forgo the passenger screenings and prohibitions on bringing certain items aboard that the agency adopted in 2012, when a NATO summit brought global dignitaries and diplomats to the convention center.
Transit security plans have taken shape in recent weeks as the city prepares for the arrival of the presidential race to Chicago, which promises to bring not only a national spotlight, but also protests and safety concerns. Federal and local officials have unveiled security perimeters around the United Center and McCormick Place, the two primary convention sites, that will limit movement through the areas, and police are planning on help from extra law enforcement officers from other agencies.
Already paramount for planners and observers, security efforts have come into sharper focus after an assassination attempt on ex-President Donald Trump last month. And at the CTA, convention security needs are compounded by concerns in recent years about crime, both real and perceived.
Ald. Walter Burnett, whose 27th Ward includes the United Center, said increased security, including on transit, is crucial. With visitors arriving from across the country and the uncertainty of how protests might play out, officers can relieve some apprehension, he said.
“We just want to make sure that people have a good look about our city,” he said. “This is not just about the Democratic convention. It’s about selling the city, it’s about tourism, it’s about future money coming to the city. So we want everyone to feel safe.”
Twelve years ago, when global dignitaries and politicians descended on Chicago for the NATO summit, Metra commuters braced for disruptions.
Police screened passengers and searched bags at downtown Metra stations. Stations on some lines that run under the convention center were closed, and some trains were canceled. Large items, food and liquid were expected to be prohibited. Metra boosted personnel at stations ahead of the summit and hired private security, and bomb-sniffing dogs patrolled trains, according to Tribune reporting at the time.
This time around, the outlook for public transit is shaping up to be different.
At the CTA, where multiple train lines run blocks from the two convention sites and buses will have to be rerouted to bypass the security perimeters, police plan to increase their presence on buses, trains, platforms and around stations, Chicago police spokesman Tom Ahern said. They plan to focus on the central business district and trains running to and from the city’s two airports, which are expected to be used by arriving and departing visitors.
Ahern declined to specify by how much the presence would increase over typical CTA patrols, saying police don’t provide exact numbers of deployments. But he said officers would work 12-hour days and days off during the convention would be canceled.
Convention activities will likely require a significant amount of police manpower. But Superintendent Larry Snelling has pledged not to drain resources from patrol districts, and Ahern said that extended to the CTA, which would remain adequately staffed with Chicago officers.
The CTA also pays unarmed, private security guards and K-9 units to patrol the system. The agency typically uses more than 400 guards, who patrol 24-hours a day, and has more than 33,000 security cameras across the system.
The usual 400 guards will continue to patrol the CTA during the convention, the agency said. The CTA would not provide details of where the guards would patrol, saying it does not comment on their deployment.
Adding to the convention-specific security concerns for the CTA will likely be a desire to promote safety, and the appearance of safety, with the country’s eyes on Chicago during the event. At the end of 2023, the Tribune found the rate of violent crime on trains was dropping but remained above prepandemic levels. Nonviolent crimes, like pickpocketing, reached levels lower than any since 2015.
Instances of crime dropped through the first half of this year, the CTA said. According to the agency’s figures, transit crime overall was down 2% through June compared with the same time in 2023.
Metra, too, is eyeing an increased law enforcement presence at downtown stations. On the Electric line, which runs under McCormick Place, service could be disrupted for planned movements of people protected by the Secret Service, the agency said. Such disruptions can happen any time dignitaries under Secret Service protection cross routes with the railroad, the agency said.
But unlike 2012, no station closures are planned. No passenger screenings or limits on items to be brought aboard are anticipated.
Metra said the Secret Service is ultimately in charge of such security planning.