It turns out it's not just the nation's capital that is fearing the worst on Tuesday. No matter who wins - President Trump or Democratic nominee Joe Biden - the consensus is that there will be riots. Both the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection have been warned to be on standby for violence and civil unrest. And business owners have boarded up their storefronts.
Protest preparations: around Washington DC, workers are covering windows for fear of violence on #ElectionDay pic.twitter.com/kXNAuLMuM7
— Scott Thuman (@ScottThuman) October 30, 2020
But in Chicago, tensions are just as high. Mayor Lori Lightfoot told press on Friday that they're preparing for the worst.
"Given what we experienced over the course of the spring and the summer, we can’t presume that what’s going to happen...is going to be peaceful,” Lightfoot said on a conference call. “We are preparing for the worst. So what we’ve been doing is a lot of drilling, a lot of making sure that we break down barriers, that no one part of election security is operating in a silo.”
She revealed a glimpse of the city's 10-day preparedness plan:
As part of her plan, Lightfoot will increase police patrols across the city while deploying 60 to 300 garbage trucks and other heavy city vehicles to key neighborhood corridors to be used as a blockade on wheels. The Office of Emergency Management and Communications also has held a number of trainings aimed at severe weather, COVID-19 outbreaks and protests related to the election, city officials said. (Chicago Tribune)
Days off have also been cancelled for several police officers for the holiday weekend and the next 10 days.
Yes, culture has come to his.