NATO Summit 2012: what does it mean to Chicago

NATO Summit 2012:

what does it mean to Chicago?

How well prepared is Chicago

for the NATO summit?

I think well prepared.

I am the Governor of our State

and Commander-in-Chief

of our National Guard,

which will be involved

in helping the proceedings along,

as well as the Chicago Police.

We want to have a very successful

gathering of NATO nations.

To have a real discussion

when people have

an opportunity to speak their piece.

We can balance that off and

make sure that everyone is heard.

It is an opportunity for Illinois

to tell the whole world about us.

We have people coming

from all the NATO nations

and we want them to learn

about Illinois and Chicago,

see Lake Michigan and all

the great things in our state of Illinois.

How much do Americans

appreciate the work of NATO?

It is an important organization.

The efforts that were done in Libya

just very recently, show the power

of NATO working together.

I was born a few months before NATO

started, I am about as old as NATO

and it is important

to have this organization

that ties people and nations

together for something important:

democracy, security, making sure

we have the opportunity to practice

what we believe in.

So NATO should always be with us,

maybe changing in form and

with the times, but it has to stand by.

Elections, protests, debate:

is Chicago 2012 democracy in action?

We have

a presidential election going on

and Illinois is

the epicentre of the whole battle.

Our president

comes from Illinois, Chicago,

and we know how

to do politics and democracy.

It is healthy to have

a robust debate and discussion.

Sometimes it gets loud,

but America is all

about the right to speak.

And NATO believes in

the right of assembly and speech,

religion and press, and it's going on

full tilt in America in the election,

and our state is in the heart of it.