CHICAGO — In just over a week, the Democratic National Convention will get underway in Chicago.
The quickly approaching convention means a lot of planning is in order to keep people safe and starting Monday, those changes may become more visible.
The build-out of the security perimeter is set to begin as the workweek gets underway, according to the Secret Service.
The Chicago Office-Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) also confirmed to WGN-TV that there will be intermittent traffic impacts and even some rolling street closures to begin the construction starting on Monday.
The security perimeter includes two zones, a red one that’s for credentialled personnel only, and a yellow one that is open to the public, but subject to security checks.
Starting Friday, there will be additional closures for pedestrians and vehicles, but authorities said they have been trying to keep folks as informed as possible, particularly those living and working within the vicinity of the United Center and McCormick Place.
While Milwaukee’s significantly smaller police force had to be bolstered by officers from as far away as Miami for the Republican National Convention, Chicago will be supplemented by other law enforcement from around the state and federal agents.
On Tuesday, new details about where demonstrations can be held are expected to be released by a federal judge.
Among the expected demonstrations is a protest scheduled for Monday, Aug. 19th, by a coalition of pro-Palestinian supporters set to converge on Chicago.
The city proposed a march route a little over a mile long starting and ending in Union Park, but the coalition sued over it, saying a route twice as long, that keeps demonstrators closer to the United Center, is more favorable.
Inside the two locations, democrats will gather over the course of four days to highlight their vision for the next four years.
“We will show the world who we are and what we stand for as democrats, and in November, we will elect Kamala Harris as the 47th President of the United States,” Democratic National Convention Chair Minyon Moore said in an op-ed penned in the last few days.
The OEMC app can be used to follow road closures and restrictions as they are laid out.