The city of Chicago will spend up to $1.2 million to hire three private security firms to help prevent a repeat of last weekend’s chaotic civil unrest and looting that erupted amid protests over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd, Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s office said.
The city has hired Illinois Security Professionals, AGB Investigative Services and Monterrey Security “to supply more than 100 private security guards to protect the local retail shops, grocery stores and pharmacies that community members rely on every single day.”
“The new guards are unarmed and solely in place to monitor activity on commercial corridors and notify the Chicago Police Department if any illegal activity occurs,” Lightfoot’s office said in a statement. “None of the security guards have policing powers, but are another set of eyes and ears to support efforts to deter looters. All security officers will wear visible identification.”
In addition to the private security, Chicago will deploy additional police patrols along commercial and retail corridors on the South and West sides, Lightfoot’s office said.
Protests spread nationwide after video emerged of a Minneapolis police officer kneeling on Floyd’s neck as he said, “I can’t breathe.” In Chicago, peaceful protests erupted into violence last weekend as individuals began looting stores throughout downtown. The officer, Derek Chauvin, has been charged with second-degree murder.
Last weekend. Lightfoot ordered bridges into the Loop lifted on Saturday, imposed a 9 p.m. curfew and cut off most access to downtown with law enforcement and city vehicles, but looting spread to the city’s South and West sides — overshadowing peaceful protests.
Lightfoot’s decision to hire private security across the city raised concerns from some aldermen, particularly freshmen progressives who said they’re worried about Chicago’s liability if something goes wrong and said private security workers aren’t subject to the same accountability structure faced by police.
One of the companies hired by Lightfoot, Monterrey Security, is politically connected and has faced a series of controversies, including being fired by two NFL teams.
The Tribune in 2018 wrote extensively about the lack of effective government oversight over private security.
gpratt@chicagotribune.com
