President Obama is moving one of two major world summits from Chicago to the presidential retreat near Washington, with an aide saying the president has decided he wants a more “intimate” setting than his hometown for the May gathering.

The Group of 8 meeting will be moved to Camp David, according to the White House, but the gathering of NATO allies and the International Security Assistance Force will go on in Chicago as planned.

Camp David will more closely approximate the remote settings in which the G-8 leaders apparently prefer to gather. Summits in large cities typically see clamorous protests, while those in the countryside are calmer and more sedate.

“It’s not about Chicago being able to handle logistics, as evidenced by the fact that the NATO and ISAF meetings will be held there, which are far larger than the G-8 meeting,” said Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for Obama’s National Security Council. “There are a lot of political, economic and security issues that come together at the G-8.”

“This was really about the president looking for a more informal setting with these close partners,” she said.

For several months, the summits have been scheduled for Chicago during the same week in May.

But Obama wanted the more informal setting in which to have a “free-flowing discussion with his fellow leaders,” a second official said.

Obama consulted with Mayor Rahm Emanuel, his former chief of staff, about the decision to move the summit, the official said.

As Emanuel laid plans for dealing with protesters and security, some members of the Chicago City Council were raising questions about the particulars.

After word spread of the cancellation on Monday, some protesters assumed they were the reason.


“People only run from what they are afraid to face,” tweeted one Twitter user, OccupyChicago. “Guess we scared them away.”

Meanwhile, aides to the president say he started contemplating the change a couple of weeks ago as he consulted with his staff.

But he still thinks Chicago can handle the protesters, “as have other cities that have hosted the summits,” one official said.

The G-8 summit is set to take place on May 18 and 19, addressing a range of economic, political and security issues.

The president is then to host the NATO allies and partners on May 20 and 21 in Chicago, where they are scheduled to discuss the war in Afghanistan and their planned withdrawal.

cparsons@latimes.com