After the initial surprise over word from the White House today that the May G-8 summit has been moved to Camp David, Chicago officials and protest organizers quickly turned to speculation of how that would affect the NATO meeting that is still planned for that weekend in the city.



World leaders are still expected for the May 20-21 NATO gathering, including most of the Group of Eight leaders who will meet in Camp David earlier that weekend, officials said. The head of Chicago's host committee for the summits sought to focus on that in comments today.



"I'm sure it was a decision that was not made lightly," said Lori Healey, executive director of the Chicago G-8/NATO host committee. When asked if she had knowledge of the cancellation prior to Monday, she said she did not.





"Obviously, the White House doesn't consult with the host committee," she said. "I understand the reasons. There are critical issues that the White House wants to discuss in a more intimate setting. That's the situation."



Healey sought to stress the positive notes of NATO still being scheduled for Chicago, saying the host committee's "program" for the weekend would remain unchanged, except the need to change the nature of a social event planned for Saturday night.



"It will ultimately have minimal impact," Healey said.



NATO, which has a larger membership and includes six of the eight G-8 countries, will draw larger numbers of visitors to the city, creating "our ability to show Chicago off to the countries of the world."



Host committee officials were already reacting to the changes, she said.



"It's not our first time at the rodeo. We have some pretty experienced people over here and we're already making some adjustments," said Healey, who also ran former Mayor Richard Daley's failed bid to win the 2016 Olympics.



Rahm Emanuel's administration also put out a generic statement.



"We wish President Obama and the other leaders well at the G-8 meeting at Camp David and look forward to hosting the NATO Summit in Chicago. Hosting the NATO summit is a tremendous opportunity to showcase Chicago to the world and the world to Chicago, and we are proud to host the 50 heads of state, foreign and defense ministers from the NATO and ISAF countries in our great city May 19-21."



Early word from protest organizers was that if the move was intended to slow them down, that wouldn't happen.



"The main thing is, the protests will go forward," said anti-war protest leader Andy Thayer. "We believe that NATO is, frankly, the de facto military arm of G-8 and anybody who's upset with G-8 should be upset with NATO."



Because G-8 is being moved to a remote, highly secure location, Thayer said Chicago will still be a magnet for large demonstrations.



"I believe that people will very much focus on Chicago. So much organization has already gone into this," he said, adding that groups will tinker with their demonstration plans rather than abandon them. "We're going to have a quick consultation to see whether we need to move our demonstration from the 19th to the 20th."



Harvey Grossman, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said he imagines there will less protest interest now that G-8 has been removed from the weekend of summits.



"Some of the primary concerns people have have been taken off the plate," Grossman said. "People wanted to reach out to that audience. They wanted to show their level of dissent to the economic policies. It's a disappointment in terms of the ability to engage."



Ald. Michele Smith, 43rd, expressed surprise at the announcement, as did many of her colleagues at City Hall.



"What's that all about?" Smith asked. "That's a drag for the mayor, after all that aggravation."



"Really, after all that drama?" Ald. Joe Moore, 49th, reacted upon hearing the news.



Moore said many of the protesters opposed to G-8 policies may still show up, because "they are so geared up to do it.""NATO is still going to attract demonstrators," Moore said. "We are still going to need a lot of security for these world leaders, including the president. All it's doing is lessening a little bit of the international luster."



Ald. Scott Waguespack, 32nd, speculated that the president ultimately was more comfortable with the security and tranquility at the presidential retreat. "Nobody can get near Camp David," he said.



But he said the city should still expect a large contingent of protesters — to both G-8 and NATO policies.



"The protesters will still come," Waguespack said. "I bet they'll come early for NATO and just hunker down in Chicago. I can't imagine they wouldn't still come."



Protesters sought to claim a share of credit for the move.



"They moved them to avoid us," said Joe Iosbaker, a protest organizer. "The G-8 leaders were going to be the targets of the largest protest in the United States against their agenda They decided, let's move them someplace where it will be much harder for crowds to assemble."



Iosbaker called the move a victory for protesters.



"We're still marching, whether we move the day to be there during the actual (NATO) summit," Iosbaker said.



And an agent at the Chicago office of the U.S. Secret Service was caught off guard by questions about the cancellation, saying he had meetings scheduled this week regarding G-8 planning.