How Much Will President Trump's Chicago Appearance Cost Taxpayers?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- President Donald Trump often bashes Chicago, but next week, he will be in the city for a fundraiser and then a speech.
And as CBS 2 Political Reporter Dana Kozlov reported Friday, it could end up costing taxpayers a bunch.
Trump will first attend a fundraiser at Trump Tower, put on by Chicago Cubs co-owner and Trump Victory Committee Finance Chairman Todd Ricketts and Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel.
He will also address the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference, which will be held at McCormick Place.
It will be Trump's first trip to Chicago since March 11, 2016, when a political rally he had planned to hold at the UIC Pavilion – now renamed the Credit Union 1 Arena – was called off minutes before he was set to take the stage. The rally was canceled amid a firestorm of protests both for and against Trump.
Back at the time, Trump said he was "postponing" the rally after a throng of his supporters was already inside the stadium - though he did not make any more appearances in Chicago during the campaign and has not done so since he was inaugurated as president, until now.
Things were tense during the 2016 gathering following the announcement inside the UIC Pavilion that Trump was not coming, as throngs of anti-Trump demonstrators ringed the building. A Chicago Police officer was seen bleeding from the head, but it wasn't immediately clear what had happened. Other police officers could be seen clashing with demonstrators.
Police rushed from their posts outside the UIC pavilion where they found officers struggling with a protester. Eventually the protester was subdued on the pavement of a nearby intersection, but not before being bloodied in the melee. A handful of other activists were also seen taken away by police.
Police also shooed everyone out of the stadium while trying to keep peace.
The public safety costs to taxpayers for that rally were not available from the city. But a Police Department representative said up to 1,800 additional officers will be available Monday when the president hits town again.
Protests are also expected again and have already been planned. Invitations to at least three of them were circulating on social media as of Friday.
A city representative could not say how much Trump's visit might cost taxpayers this time around. But according to the Center for Public Integrity, Trump's campaign stops have cost other cities tens of thousands of dollars or more.
Minneapolis estimated the cost of a rally this month to be $530,000. El Paso estimated a cost of $470,000, and an October 2018 rally in Erie, Pennsylvania cost $35,000.
Police officers will be needed throughout the city as Trump heads to McCormick Place from his sold-out Trump Tower luncheon, where ticket packages range from $2,800 to $100,000.
Of course, most campaign appearances carry a public safety cost, typically picked up by the local taxpayers. As for who is attending Trump's fundraiser, organizers are keeping that list under wraps.
