McCarthy: No credible terrorist threats against Chicago on his watch

Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Wednesday that since he took office four years ago there have been no credible terrorist threats against Chicago.

“We have not received a specific threat to Chicago since I’ve been here,” McCarthy said while addressing the City Club of Chicago at Maggiano’s restaurant, 516 N. Clark.

“We are so much better at what we’re doing regarding counter-terrorism today than we were back on 9/11,” said McCarthy, who was third in command of the New York City Police Department during the World Trade Center attacks in 2001.

McCarthy, who keeps in his Chicago office the license plate from his Ford Crown Victoria that was crushed by debris when the twin towers collapsed, said that problems with sharing intelligence with federal authorities about terrorism have since been addressed.

“Today, we all have top-secret clearances, and when I say all of us, I mean a number of key figures at the top of the Chicago Police Department,” he said.

“And we actually have something I probably shouldn’t talk about, we have a secure room where we can share that information. I get a weekly briefing on all the counter-terrorism threats and everything that’s going on across the country.”

McCarthy said the lure of Americans to venture to the Middle East to join ISIS was “very concerning.”

“We are up to date on it and quite honestly nothing has been a credible threat to Chicago yet. But we’re always watching and putting things in place to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Wednesday that since he took office four years ago there have been no credible terrorist threats against Chicago. | Mitch Dudek/Sun-Times