White House moves G8 summit from Chicago to Camp David

The White House announced the Group of Eight summit will take place in Camp David instead of Chicago.

The summit was originally going to take place in Chicago, President Obama's hometown, alongside an upcoming NATO summit. In the announcement, White House press secretary Jay Carney said that the NATO meeting would still take place in Chicago.

"To facilitate a free-flowing discussion with our close G-8 partners, the President is inviting his fellow G-8 leaders to Camp David on May 18-19 for the G-8 Summit, which will address a broad range of economic, political and security issues," the statement read. "The President will then welcome NATO allies and partners to his hometown of Chicago for the NATO Summit on May 20-21, which will be the premier opportunity this year for the President to continue his efforts to strengthen NATO in order to ensure that the Atlantic Alliance remains the most successful alliance in history, while charting the way forward in Afghanistan."

The city had been preparing for the summits with plans for additional security measures such as added cameras around the city and additional riot gear for law enforcement. 

A spokesman for the National Security Council said that the change was because Obama wanted a more "informal" setting for the meeting.

"There are a lot of political, economic and security issues that come together at the G8," NSC spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said according to the Los Angeles Times. Hayden said it wasn't a matter of whether Chicago could handle the summits or not. "This was really about the president looking for a more informal setting with these close partners."

—This story was updated at 4:58 p.m.