Residents and businesses ask questions at final NATO meeting - Chicago News and Weather | FOX 32 News

Residents and businesses ask questions at final NATO meeting

Tuesday night was one of the last chances for residents, and business owners to ask questions before the NATO summit, and people asked questions about everything from terrorism to toilets.

The answer they heard over and over: Chicago is ready for NATO; people should expect a few inconveniences, but they should pretty much be able to go about their business.

Anyone coming downtown, and trying to get around in the vicinity of McCormick Place, where the NATO Summit will be hosted can expect to run into security check points. But for those who live and work around that area will deal with what the Summit security consultant called soft checkpoints.

"Carry the id that you normally carry, a drivers license is fine, there's not any credentialing being issued to the general public to access any particular areas that are going to be part of theNATO summit security," security consultant Arnette Heintze said.

Another concern stems from a report in Crain's Chicago Business that said some downtown businesses were encouraging workers to dress down,  setting aside suits or anything with corporate logos.

One business even urged workers to dress like protesters.

"In the same story was probably going to be what to do when the sky falls, so you know if you're relying on that sort of expert to get security advice from, you're in trouble. Come to work like you come to work, dressed like you dress every day,"Heintze said.  

One person at the meeting asked the panel if there would be enough portable toilets in Grant Park to accommodate all the protesters, to avoid problems. They were assured there would be.

The secret service also assured the audience that hotel security would not be an issue.

"There will be the appropriate level of security around hotels, some hotels will have more delegates and more protectees than others, without really discussing security protocols you'll seethe appropriate amount of security," Secret Service Agent Frank Benedetto said.

The potential protests are even changing the way the city will collect garbage during the summit.

Four hundred of the new solar recycling containers are being pulled off the street. They're being replaced by the old fashioned wire garbage cans.

The wire cans are much easier to check for any suspicious objects, and much cheaper to replace if they get trashed.