Obama, Security Knocks Downtown For A Loop

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Nov 18, 2008 4:20PM

If you work in the Loop, particularly in the vicinity of the Kluczynski Federal Building (230 S. Dearborn) you've probably noticed a heavy police presence thanks to President-Elect Barack Obama, who has a temporary office in the building while he waits to move into his new official office. And while the city certainly celebrated Obama's election victory a few weeks ago, more people are growing a little frustrated with immense security.

A few businesses in the area have reported issues thanks to the new security. One UPS store across the street from the Kluczynski Building has reported business has dropped almost 50 percent since Obama moved in.

Customers either don't realize the store remains open or are kept from the sidewalk in front of the store when Obama's motorcade is on the move, Cron said. Employees find themselves under scrutiny, and delivery truck drivers must walk their cargo from a parking spot two blocks away. When Cron's cell phone was seized and erased by an agent when he attempted to videotape the motorcade, Cron thought it was "way over the top."

Buildings in the area have also lost their 5 p.m. mail pick-up as a result of security discussions with the Secret Service. While stand-alone mail boxes throughout the Loop still get their 5 p.m. pick-up, the postal service is no longer sending workers and trucks to individual buildings for the final pick-up. Mark Reynolds, a Chicago postal service spokesman, said, "This was in larger part out of security concerns, and then we took a broader look at overall efficiencies we could make." Overall, these are, if nothing else, temporary inconveniences. While we understand the frustration felt by the business owners who are directly affected, once January rolls around, Obama will move into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the streets around the Kluczynski Building will return to normal once again.

But the questions surrounding the intense security carry over to the security itself. Yesterday, we told you how Chicago Police Superintendent Jody Weis swore up and down that only off-duty police officers would work the Obama security detail. Fine. But working off-duty comes with a hefty overtime price tag. According to the Trib, "That overtime tab would run upward of $890,000, with 60 officers covering three shifts and a sergeant for one shift, if all of the officers and the sergeant were at the city's lowest pay grades." The city is working with Illinois' Congressional delegation to secure funding to pay for the security. This is the President of the Untied States, after all, so we're for using as much protection as is necessary. But with the city facing a historical budget crunch that could result in mass layoffs and a cut in city services, we're hoping they're being discerning in how they're spending this money and working hard to ensure the cost doesn't come out of the city's pocket, especially since we were under the impression presidential protection fell to federal agents. And, besides, wouldn't the city be better off using this overtime pay to up police patrols to help fight Chicago's uptick in violent crime? We're just sayin'...

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak