Chicago’s City Hall and the Cook County Building will both be closed to the public on Wednesday as a precaution ahead of Inauguration Day festivities in Washington, city officials announced.
According to the Office of Emergency Management and Communication, both buildings will be closed as a “precautionary step,” and are expected to reopen Thursday.
Officials say that they anticipate that the city and suburban Cook County will remain peaceful during the inauguration, and the agencies involved in the decision to close the buildings “are not aware of any activity being planned in Chicago or suburban Cook County.”
The OEMC had previously announced it would activate the city’s Emergency Operations Center to help coordinate public safety response efforts in the event of any protests or disturbances surrounding the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
