Suburban Cops Prepping For NATO Summit

North suburban police departments are training to back up Chicago police for the NATO summit May 20-21 – and to handle any incidents that spill out beyond the city limits.

Regarding the NATO summit, Northfield Police Chief William Lustig said, "The Northfield Police Department has been working in conjunction with surrounding suburban agencies in an effort to be prepared for the upcoming NATO Conference. We continue  to monitor and prepare for this event, with our immediate partners."

Winnetka Deputy Chief Joseph Pellus agreed.

"Without discussing specifics of our training or preparation, we benefit from strong partnerships with our neighboring law enforcement agencies and robust mutual aid agreements," said Pellus. "We stand ready for any emergency, although we do not anticipate disruptions in our jurisdiction during this event."

Suburban police chiefs communicate

Morton Grove Police Chief Mark Erickson said he talks to neighboring  communities’ police chiefs at least monthly.

“We have regular meetings and most of us are friends anyway,”  he said. “For the most part, we’ve known each other for a long time. It’s nice when you want to bounce something off another guy, you’re not calling some distant chief, you’re calling a friend.”

Erickson said police work is much more sophisticated and technology-driven than when he started a generation ago. He recalls squad cars without computers. Erickson worked on one of the department’s first computers – an Apple – in the early 1990s. “Especially post-9/11, our world has really changed in law enforcement.”

 Departments training for months

Members of suburban police departments have been spotted in training exercises. Such rehearsals have been going on since the NATO summit was first sited in Chicago last year.

“We have regular meetings with suburban chiefs and CPD all year long. This is nothing new,” said Erickson. “In suburbia, we have been in contact with CPD for many years, and with the feds all along. We all meet regularly on a variety of issues. This is just another issue.”

Suburbs have handled dignitaries' visits

Most suburbs have regular procedures on file to handle the big events and visits of dignitaries.

Erickson recalls Morton Grove police handling Queen Elizabeth driving down Dempster without incident. President George W. Bush visited a nearby public safety facility. Suburban police had involvement when President Obama savored his election with the famed Grant Park rally.

“We have all these suburban task forces who train together,” Erickson said. “We have mobile field forces, SWAT teams, burglary teams. Some of those encompass 100 towns, 125 towns, that routinely train together.”

Cops coordinate in consortiums

The main suburban police coordinating body is the Northern Illinois Police Alarm System, Strzelecki said. The operation consists of two branches.  The EST Emergency Services Team handles heavy-duty situations like hostages, barricaded subjects, SWAT teams and the like. The Mobile Field Force handles situations like protesters and demonstrations, which are typically non-violent.

--Pam DeFiglio contributed to this article. 

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