Chicago Cops Plan Job Swap With Milwaukee for Conventions

Miranda Davis and Kailey Leinz
·1 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker said Milwaukee and Chicago’s police departments will do a officer swap to increase presence in both cities during their respective political conventions this summer.

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“We’re actually trading and working with the Milwaukee police,” Pritzker said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power” on Monday. “The Chicago Police are going to help at the Milwaukee Republican Convention this year, and the Milwaukee Police are coming to help us for our Democratic Convention here in Chicago.”

A spokesperson for the city of Milwaukee confirmed that they will be sending about 75 officers in support of the DNC in Chicago. Spokespeople for the city of Chicago and the police department didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Read more: Pritzker Not Worried About Repeat of 1968: Washington Edition

The comments came during Pritzker’s discussion of security at the DNC, which Chicago is hosting this August. Pritzker said that the convention will have an “extensive security apparatus” that also includes the Secret Service, the FBI and the Illinois State Police. Milwaukee is hosting the Republican National Convention in July.

Sharing resources with Milwaukee makes a lot of sense given how close the two host cities are this year — less than 100 miles (161 kilometers) apart, he said. Pritzker added that the two police forces are both training for the conventions.

“Protests are a normal part of a political convention and we expect them,” Pritzker said.

--With assistance from Shruti Date Singh.

(Updates to add estimate of Milwaukee officers in third paragraph.)

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