Here's Your Friday NATO Summit Roundup

By aaroncynic in News on Mar 30, 2012 6:20PM

The city has raised more than $55 million to pay for the upcoming NATO summit in May, between federal dollars and private donations, according to the Tribune. Federal security grants will pay approximately $19.1 million of the costs, and the rest of the tab will be picked up by over two dozen corporate donors, including Boeing, Exelon, CME Group, Bank of America, CBOE and others.

The Mayor’s office estimated the total cost of the summit would be between $40 million and $65 million. The federal money will be provided as a reimbursement. Lori Healey, executive director of the NATO Host Committee, told the Sun-Times the grants and donations “means that taxpayers will not be on the hook.”

Meanwhile, Administrative Law Judge Raymond J. Prosser rejected the appeal by protest organizers to hold a march on May 20. City officials argued that the logistical and security issues would overtax resources if it were moved from the original date of May 19.

Organizer Andy Thayer said protesters will still march on the 20th. “I can say definitively we are marching on May 20. We will hold a peaceful protest,” he told the Tribune. Organizers are also considering appealing to a higher court.

In addition to traffic snarls and other transportation issues, rail lines could be affected by the summit as well. The Sun-Times reports the Secret Service may shut down the rail lines running beneath McCormick Place for the summit. Such a measure would affect the South Shore, Metra Electric lines, Amtrak and the Canadian National Railway.