Bob Wachowski, director of Public safety at DePaul University, discusses NATO security and campus security with journalism students. (Photo by Mike Reilley)

With the 2012 NATO Summit just weeks away, DePaul University is doing everything it can to prepare for the event  but Public Safety has found themselves outside of the information loop.

The summit, which will be held at McCormick Place just south of DePaul’s loop campus, is the first time to be held in the U.S. outside of Washington. Dignitaries from the 28 countries which form the alliance are scheduled to arrive for the meeting, transported by 140-170 motorcades through downtown Chicago.

Announced last month, DePaul will be shutting down its Loop Campus while the summit takes place as a precautionary safety measure, but government organizations in charge of planning such as the FBI and Secret Servic have withheld the details in summit protocol.

“We won’t get any information until four weeks before,” said Robert Wachowski, DePaul Director of Public Safety. “Just the logistics of it is going to be a nightmare.”

Wachowski said the 50,000 protestors are expected to  raise certain safety issues for the students and university property. In his 14-year-tenure as Director and full 29 years employed at DePaul, he has yet to encounter a situation such as this.

“As far as the number of protestors and dignitaries,” Wachowski said. “This is the first time Chicago itself has ever handled a crowd of this magnitude.”

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