Chicago is gearing up to ring in the New Year with fireworks, music, and major national attention along the Riverwalk.

As the city is anticipating thousands of people coming downtown, they're trying to get out ahead of any safety concerns.

Moving trucks full of equipment, road blocks, and barricades were being moved into place late Monday on Franklin Street between Lake Street and Wacker Drive, ahead of the free riverfront celebration hosted and headlined by Chance the Rapper for Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2026.

DJ Mike Dunn, DJ Mike P, J. Ivy, and Shemekia Copeland will also appear onstage.

It is a first for the New York City-based countdown show, and one of the reasons Chicago will get federal support from the Secret Service for the live event.

The city's Office of Emergency Management and Communications highly recommends taking public transit, as many of the roads and bridges will be blocked off by 11:30 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Some road closures are already in effect near the Riverwalk.

The city said Chicago's inclusion in the countdown underscores the strength of its tourism industry.

"I'm so happy to see Chicago highlighted at the end of the year," said Allison Gallese. "It's wonderful."

Gallese, partner at Miru and Tre Dita restaurants at the St. Regis Chicago, said they're prepping for an early, family-friendly glow party at Miru, followed by an elegant evening affair for adults, and have one of the best views for the midnight show.

"We see beautiful fireworks at Navy Pier, and then you can see all the fireworks west of the river, so you can see all the fireworks on the bridges," she said.

Safety concerns linger after a violent aftermath of the city's Christmas tree lighting.

"We're going to be highly visible throughout the entirety of the city. We're going to make sure we have sufficient manpower. We've already made provisions for that," said Chicago police Supt. Larry Snelling.

After the tree lighting, a 14-year-old was killed in a shooting at Adams and Dearborn streets, while seven teens were shot near State and Randolph streets.

"We have young people show up, and they are down there with a purpose of causing problems," Snelling said. "You could find yourself as a parent having to go to the police station having to pick up your child."

Mayor Brandon Johnson said the city has learned lessons from the violence that followed the tree lighting event.

"I've had extensive conversations with our superintendent around not just our presence, but how all of our departments have to work together for Ingress egress to be able to move people around effectively. Those lessons will certainly be applied to the New Year's Eve event," he said.

Even with all the entertainment and pyrotechnics, OEMC is urging people to stay alert, be aware of their surroundings, and report anything suspicious by calling 911.

The city also reiterated that the 10 p.m. curfew for everyone under 18 who is unaccompanied by an adult will be heavily enforced.

"This is to parents— please know where your children are," Supt. Snelling said. "If you're under the age of 18, you should not be in the downtown area after curfew without being accompanied by an adult."

Violation of the curfew can result in fines and community service.

"Chicago is going to feel some pressure, the police department is going to feel pressure to be honest," said former CPD First Deputy Supt. Anthony Riccio.

He said police will be supported Wednesday night into Thursday.

He said federal partners like the FBI, Secret Service, and a private security company he works for will be at the New Year's Eve event. To get into the entrances for the event, at West Wacker Drive and Wells Street, and around the bend at North Wacker Drive and Lake Street, people will have to go through security.

"The event itself should be very safe because people will be screened there for weapons," Riccio said.

Local organizations offering to help keep youth safe during NYE celebrations downtown

As thousands prepare to celebrate downtown, the Brilliance and Excellence Movement wants to make sure what happened following the Tree Lighting ceremony doesn't happen again.

The group is a conglomerate of local organizations coming together to promote safe and peaceful communities. They took 50 boys to a Bulls game on Monday night, giving them court-side seats, where they were able to meet some of the players. They say this is one way they're keeping kids on the right path.

"We do not want to see tragedy happen in our city, especially when it comes to young people. It doesn't matter if they're from the South Side or West Side, we really want this to be a great year going into 2026," said Founder of CHAMPS Male Mentoring, Vondale Singleton.

"We'll be using all of our communication channels; making sure that we send text-blast out for those young people that are connected to us, e-blast to parents, all making sure that the message is universal around the entire city. If we do run into a young person, that does want to have fun, but may not have someone to accompany them, we'll make sure that we can assist in that way as well," said Founder of I Am A Gentlemen, Jermaine Anderson.

Both Singleton and Anderson spoke with Deputy Mayor Garrien Gatewood about how they can assist after city officials addressed safety concerns ahead of New Year's Eve celebrations downtown.

"We all want Chicago to be safe. We all want our young people to be safe, mainly, and as an organization, we want to make sure we're in partnership with the city so we can communicate the same message," Anderson said.

The group said it is always thinking of ways to keep kids safe. Gatewood said community partners will be on the streets to make sure kids don't get into trouble, along with police officers patrolling the area.

How to get to downtown on public transportation

The Chicago Transit Authority will have service on both buses and trains, which will be free on New Year's Eve from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., CPD Supt. Snelling said there is enough manpower on the CTA to do everything possible to keep people safe.

Purple and Yellow Line trains to and from Evanston and Skokie will only run until 2 a.m.

Metra will offer free rides on all trains arriving at or departing from its downtown stations after 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve. Alcohol will be banned on trains after 7 p.m. that evening.

All Metra lines will run on reduced schedules New Year's Eve. To allow those ringing in the New Year enough time to get on, the last trains for the night from the BNSF, Metra Electric, Milwaukee District North, Milwaukee District West, Rock Island, Union Pacific North, Union Pacific Northwest and Union Pacific West lines will leave downtown after 1 a.m. New Year's Day. The last Southwest Service train will leave downtown at 12:42 a.m.

In the suburbs, Pace buses are also offering free rides on New Year's Eve, beginning at 10 p.m. Wednesday and continuing until 4 a.m. Thursday. Pace is also offering free paratransit rides during that period.

Pace reminds riders to review holiday schedules, since regular routes will be limited over New Year's.

In southwest suburban Palos Heights, police said they will help people get home with no questions asked. Instead of getting behind the wheel or even calling an Uber, people can call police at 708-448-2191. This only applies in Palos Heights — not in the city of Chicago or any other suburb.

As for fireworks, they will be best viewed along the Chicago River from Upper Wacker Drive, stretching from McClurg Court to Franklin Street, and there will also be a separate fireworks show at Navy Pier. 

OEMC is advising people to also dress for the weather, as windchills could be around 0.