CPD preparing for car caravans as Mexican Independence Day celebrations return

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Mexican Independence Day is Friday, and Chicago Police plan to make sure everyone has a safe and fun time. 

Celebrations started over the weekend with a parade in Little Village, the first time the neighborhood has hosted the Mexican Independence Day Parade since the pandemic. The theme was "our unity is our strength."

With the actual holiday coming up on Friday, police say they are working to make sure celebrations are safe, particularly people who want to drive in a car caravan through the city, a longtime tradition in Chicago.

"Not only that they can celebrate, that traffic is mobile, that retail corridors have the opportunity to have those customers, and do it in a safe manner," said Angel Novalez, the department's chief of constitutional policing and reform.

Novalez said police also have worked with community members to create individual plans that would work for their unique neighborhoods.