City officials discuss safety plan for July 4th weekend, including NASCAR street race
CHICAGO (CBS) -- City officials on Wednesday revealed the plan to keep visitors and Chicagoans safe for the upcoming July 4th holiday weekend, including the big NASCAR street race downtown.
The city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications said, for months, they have worked on several exercises and workshops to handle additional crowds and street closures in and around Grant Park.
OEMC and the Chicago Police Department said they will extend their summer operation center to five days for the Independence Day holiday weekend, with July 4th falling on a Tuesday this year.
OEMC will provide strategic oversight of citywide deployments of public safety personnel and assets with their ongoing collaborative efforts to keep the city safe.
"As part of this activation, we will conduct daily coordination calls to facilitate information sharing citywide with all necessary agencies," OEMC acting executive director Jose Tirado said.
Public safety officials said they have 240 square miles to monitor over the weekend, including the NASCAR street race course in Grant Park, the fireworks display Saturday night at Navy Pier, and other 4th of July celebrations across the city.
CBS 2's Sara Machi will have more on the city's safety plans for this weekend later this afternoon.