Jack Fox, the agent in charge of the Springfield Secret Service office, said agents arrived in Carbondale Wednesday to prepare for President Clinton’s visit.

I don’t think it is any secret we’re in town, Fox said.

Fox said advance preparations for Clinton’s visit to Carbondale have begun.

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Leland Widick, SIUC’s chief flight instructor, said the Southern Illinois University Airport will be closed while Clinton is in town. He said all air-space with in the vicinity of Clinton will be closed.

It’s a security measure that they do, Widick said. That’s standard practice.

A white house spokesperson confirmed that the president will be arriving at the Southern Illinois Airport.

The Secret Service will be looking at any and all chances of disruption or possible harm to the president, Fox said.

Fox said the framework for Clinton’s Carbondale visit is the same as it would be for any visit, even to cities such as New York or Chicago. He said the same precautions, considerations and responsibilities are taken any time the president travels.

Fox said the Secret Service will be working with the local authorities to ensure safety for both the general public and the president.

The overall protective responsibility is enhanced with local authorities, Fox said.

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He said local authorities will assist with crowd control, presidential routes and other obvious safety precautions.

Fox said local authorities are responsible for the safety of the public and the Secret Service’s responsibility is the president.

We got conformation (yesterday) on what we will be helping the secret service with. said Don Strom, Carbondale Police Chief.

We will be in charge of the public, and assisting with security and the presidential route, he said. We are planning to run the motorcade route (tomorrow) to get prepared.

Strom said the Carbondale Police are bringing in more staff for the event and will be working with other police agencies to ensure security.

University Police said they will also be assisting with security measures. We will be in charge of controlling the crowd and making sure traffic is handled. We are basically just there to assist the Secret Service in any way we can, said Sam Jordan, director of the SIUC Police.