NATO Summit to generate $128M in Chicago - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

The upcoming NATO Summit and related events will mean $128 million in revenue for Chicago and about $3 million in tax money, the leader of the city's host committee said Monday. 

Speaking at a gathering of community leaders, the executive director of the Chicago NATO Host Committee also said that more than $36 million has been raised in private donations that, when combined with $18 million in federal funding, is enough to ensure that city taxpayers won't have to pay for the summit. 

The cost has been a concern in the city since officials announced last year that the NATO Summit would be coming to Chicago, and Lori Healey's comments on Monday reiterated assurances that Mayor Rahm Emanuel's office has been making for months. 

Healey and others have long been saying the summit will be a boon for the city, both in term of revenues and prestige, with visits by dozens of foreign leaders, thousands of NATO delegates and staffers and scores of foreign journalists. 

On Monday, for example, Healey said a World Business Chicago study found that more than 18,300 attendees and staff will add up to more than 44,000 hotel nights and the summit will result in 2,200 temporary jobs. 

Healey said the study released Monday takes into security costs into account although it does not an estimate of those costs. Liz Jellema, research director for World Business Chicago, said security costs "are confidential," but they are part of the overall $128 million estimate. 

Healey also dismissed any suggestion that the figures were optimistic, saying the $128 million estimate is "truly, truly conservative," in part because the federal government has not disclosed how much money it will spend in Chicago for the summit. 

Healey also addressed recent media reports that as early as this week, federal agents, some in battle gear, will be seen patrolling Chicago streets. She said there would be no visible sign of increased federal law enforcement presence until just before the May 20-21 summit. 

Healey also said that U.S. Marine Gen. John Allen, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, will throw out the first pitch at Wrigley Field before the Chicago Cubs play the Chicago White Sox on May 19.