By David Heinzmann, Chicago Tribune –
CHICAGO — Whoever wins the campaign for president a week from Tuesday, this election night is not likely to resemble 2008 on the streets of Chicago.
Four years ago, Chicago police blanketed the streets of downtown as streams of jubilant Barack Obama supporters — a crowd estimated at a quarter-million — flowed into Grant Park to mark the election of America’s first African-American president.
This year, Obama’s campaign calls the gathering a “watch party.” And it will be set against a backdrop of convention-center walls instead of the glittering skyline ringing the park.
The campaign is headed to the McCormick Place convention center, a smaller, less-accessible —albeit more traditional — venue.
Admission will be limited to supporters willing to volunteer for Obama’s final campaign push, either by going to Wisconsin to knock on doors for two days or by spending three days making phone calls to swing-state voters. Obama campaign officials did not say how many people they plan to accommodate.
There are indications the city is preparing for issues beyond securing McCormick Place, whether it’s informal gatherings in downtown parks or incidents in neighborhoods. The Chicago Police Department has canceled days off for officers, ordered plainclothes officers into uniform and scheduled 12-hour shifts for Election Day, police sources said.
