Organizers for the annual Our Lady of Guadalupe feast at the Maryville Academy campus in Des Plaines said they were shocked when they recently received a $30,000 bill from local police and said the bill for police services in the past has been between $2,800 to about $5,000, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Des Plaines Police Chief William Kushner told the Chicago Tribune they had told Rev. Marco Mercado, rector of the Our Lady shrine, of the increased costs but Mercado said the $30,000 price tag came as surprise and was not in their budget.
Des Plaines Police Chief William Kushner told the Chicago Tribune they had told Rev. Marco Mercado, rector of the Our Lady shrine, of the increased costs but Mercado said the $30,000 price tag came as surprise and was not in their budget.
ABC7 Chicago reports around 100,000 people attend an outdoor shrine during this Catholic festival, which marks the "16th-century appearance of the Virgin Mary in Mexico."
Kushner told WGN-TV the bill covers cost for overtime for auxiliary and police officers who patrol the area and control crowds during the overnight festival and that in the past, the city has covered the majority of those costs.
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