DHS returns anti-terrorism funds held back from big cities
Major cities are again receiving counter-terrorism funding and reimbursement for security at major events that had been withheld by the Trump administration to punish local governments run by Democrats.
The Department of Homeland Security has restored payments to Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco and other cities that had sued DHS to restore the funding, officials said.
'Citizens all over the country will benefit as a consequence of that initial filing because those releases are now beginning to trickle out,' Mary Richardson-Lowry, Chicago's corporation counsel, said Thursday.
The restoration of the funds from the Securing the Cities program comes as communities around the country increase security as a precaution following the U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.
Chicago had filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration in May, claiming the funds that Congress had allotted for the city were being illegally withheld by DHS.
San Francisco, Seattle, Denver and Boston joined in the lawsuit when their funds were also cut.
Richardson-Lowry's office said Seattle and San Francisco have begun receiving their funding and Boston's payment is in process. The mayor's office in Denver did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Securing the Cities program was created to help prepare for the possibility of nuclear or terrorist attacks. It began as a pilot program in the New York City region in 2006 and expanded over time to 13 cities. In 2018, the program was formally authorized by Congress.
The money is used to fund security measures and training, including for large-scale events such as Lollapalooza, which each summer draws about 400,000 people to Chicago's downtown.
Chicago was awaiting reimbursement of about $1.2 million for expenses that included the purchase of equipment to detect a nuclear event. 'We need that equipment to ensure our citizens have every opportunity to be safe in this current environment,' said Richardson-Lowry.
DHS did not immediately return a request for comment about the funding. Earlier this week, the agency issued a warning of a 'heightened threat environment' across the country after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
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