Rosemont to outsource venue security for a year
Rosemont plans to outsource its security at village-owned venues for the next year to see if it can save money.
Some 90 officers, called security specialists by the village, are currently on staff with the village's public safety department to work part time during events at the Allstate Arena, Rosemont Theatre and the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center.
Many of those employees will shift to Monterrey Security Consultants under an arrangement with the village that will have Monterrey handle security at those three venues, as well as the village entertainment district, starting this month, according to Mayor Brad Stephens.
"We're getting out of the business of being concert security, basically," he said.
The village board Wednesday approved a one-year security services agreement with Monterrey, though village leaders are taking a wait-and-see approach before agreeing to any long-term deal.
Stephens said cost savings projections are currently a "moving target."
"We're going to identify the goods and bads and see where we're going to go in a year," he said.
The Rosemont security specialists are sworn or retired police officers from Rosemont and other towns whose responsibilities include running security checkpoints upon entrance to the Allstate Arena. The officers are paid hourly, and some are only called in to work a couple times a year, Stephens said.
Under the agreement with Monterrey, village officials will tell Monterrey how many security officers are needed for a particular event, and those officers will be paid on a scale that ranges from $17 per hour to $37 per hour, with the security supervisor position being paid the most.
At MB Financial Park, having Monterrey security officers would free up sworn Rosemont public safety officers to patrol other parts of town, Stephens said.
As sworn peace officers in Illinois, the security officers are allowed to carry guns while working at Rosemont venues and they can detain people, but any arrests would be made by on-duty Rosemont officers, Stephens said.
Monterrey provides security at other sports venues, including Soldier Field in Chicago and Toyota Park in Bridgeview.