CHICAGO — Less than a month after a gunman climbed a fire escape and positioned himself on a rooftop to fire rifle rounds into a mass of Independence Day paradegoers below in Highland Park, Chicago officials said they are confident they can keep one of the city’s largest festivals safe this weekend.
Lollapalooza starts Thursday in Grant Park, showcasing more than 170 acts and hosting hundreds of thousands of people. Rich Guidice, executive director of Chicago’s Office of Emergency Management and Communications, said the city has been developing and building on its security plans around the festival since it started being held here in 2005, and this year was no different in the wake of Highland Park.
“We, this group that is part of putting together Lollapalooza, reviewed the Highland Park incident, and that’s typically what we do (in) instances that take place across the country,” Guidice said. “We’ll review best practices on our end and see if there’s anything that we need to do to modify based on what we’re seeing around the country.”
