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29 October 2015

Obama in Chicago 2

A sends:

Some additional photographs from the day of the visit along with some observations:

The motorcade appeared to have travelled along Goethe from inner Lake Shore Drive. The limousine carrying the President turned into the alley that runs between State Parkway and Astor. The President entered through a tent at the employee entrance to the Public Hotel. The tent was closed to prevent a clear line of sight. Parts of the motorcade turned around and parked on State between Goethe and Banks. The "black ambulance" (lacking a better term) parked on the sidewalk at the northeast corner of State and Goethe by the Pump Room's (a restaurant at the hotel) accessible entrance. The second limousine parked on the north side of Goethe near the Public Hotel's entrance. Before motorcade movements a Chicago Police (CPD) helicopter flew over the area and along the route. Northbound Lake Shore Drive was closed in both directions during arrival. During departure Lake Shore Drive was closed only southbound.

There were security personnel (four) on the roof/sundeck of 1340 N. Astor, an apartment building at Banks and Astor that is taller than the hotel. They appeared to have relatively high-powered optics. Many residential high rises surround the hotel. Multiple lines of sight to the tent existed from surrounding buildings. Additionally, a line of sight on the ground existed from the alley that runs for several blocks between State and Astor.

The security perimeter for vehicles was larger than the pedestrian. Vehicular traffic was blocked up to about a half block away from the block with the hotel. Large city trucks, typically used as snowplows in the winter, and CPD cars blocked vehicular traffic. Pedestrians were allowed to loiter and observe across the street from the hotel, with a perimeter fence in place along the southwest crosswalks at Goethe and State.

Additionally, here is a video of a "tent arrival": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqNq9zzIh4s. Incidentally, this was on Banks on the other side of the same block from a fundraiser in May 2014 at the home of Micheal Polsky. This video appears to have been taken from the aforementioned 1340 N. Astor.

Pictures from earlier in the day before arrival.

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