When Chicago’s FBI chief talks about the work done by the agents, analysts and others in its fourth-largest field office here, he sums it up with five words: “the best of the bureau.”

But in a world increasingly threatened by extremism and political violence — and with the Democratic National Convention set to take place in Chicago in seven short months — Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler Jr. insists, “It’s got to be better.”

“It’s just not good enough based on the new, the evolving, the breadth of the challenges, and the threats that we face nationally, globally, but specifically for Chicago,” Wheeler told the Chicago Sun-Times. “I feel like we have a more-than-our-fair-share of threat.”

That’s why, a year after taking the helm as the FBI’s special-agent-in-charge here, Wheeler says he is making in-house changes so his team can more quickly respond to developing threats and crises. He’s doing so amid preparations not just for the DNC, but for the Republican National Convention set to take place 90 miles to the north, in Milwaukee.

“Whether you live in Chicago or you travel to Chicago, it’s a focal point that I don’t think we can ignore that that exists,” Wheeler said. “I think we would more likely have a problem from a violent extremist here than a lot of other places in the country because we have that event here.”

The Democratic National Convention, where President Joe Biden will likely be nominated for a second term, is set to be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. Evening events will be held at the United Center and daytime business at the McCormick Place Convention Center. 

Milwaukee’s Republican National Convention is set to take place July 15-18.

The two events represent key moments in a presidential election set to play out like no other, with former President Donald Trump on track to secure the Republican nomination despite multiple indictments and a nearing possible trial date. Political violence is a growing concern and the war between Israel and Hamas continues to roil the world.

Meanwhile, the summer months tend to be Chicago’s most violent in any given year.

It’s a recipe for a broad range of threats, which Wheeler and others are trying to anticipate. The DNC is a National Special Security Event handled primarily by the Secret Service. But Wheeler said the FBI also has a role to play in terms of intelligence and “tactical resolution.” He said planning began even before he took charge of Chicago’s FBI field office on Jan. 2, 2023.

The Chicago Police Department is another crucial player.

Threats could range from a “lone actor with a sharp object, to a complex, coordinated attack that involves some of the worst weapons of mass destruction that you could have a nightmare about,” Wheeler said.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

He acknowledged there are lessons to be learned from the 2022 mass shooting at Highland Park’s Fourth of July parade. The attack left seven people dead, allegedly at the hands of a lone gunman.

“That is exactly the big worry,” Wheeler said. “And how do we respond well to that? How are we the most efficient with our partners? We spend an awful lot of time working with our other federal and state and local agencies to make sure that we’re as proactive and as efficient as possible.”

Good relationships between the FBI and other law enforcement agencies tend to be the “No. 1 factor in having some success,” he said.

The Israel-Hamas war is another point of concern for Wheeler. He said, “We have a steady stream of threat information that has picked up since that conflict began, and I don’t see that getting any better any time soon.”

A mother and daughter from Evanston were held hostage by Hamas for nearly two weeks after that war began in October. They were captured during a trip to Israel. Meanwhile, 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, a Palestinian American boy, was stabbed to death that same month. A Plainfield man charged in his murder faces a federal hate-crime investigation.

Wheeler said those events offer “both-sides-of-the-spectrum” examples of how the war can have ramifications locally, but he also said “there’s a lot in between.”

Chicago’s FBI chief says he’s prepared his team to more quickly assess those threats as events play out — and not wait until it’s summoned into a situation.

“It’s much more forward-leaning, much more proactive with our partners,” Wheeler said.

Wheeler leads a team of about 450 agents, with a total staff of about 1,100 people.

As for members of the public with information about a threat — or other federal crimes — FBI spokeswoman Siobhan Johnson said “they absolutely can” reach out, “and they will talk to an agent” if they do. The number to call is 312-421-6700.

Those calls will go to the FBI’s always-staffed operations center in Chicago, a space filled with monitors equipped with multiple camera feeds and an office for the agent on duty.

Ashlee Rezin/Sun-Times

Wheeler is a 25-year veteran of the FBI who got his start in Texas. He’s been a member of the protection detail for the U.S. attorney general, taught new agents at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, and deployed to Afghanistan to work on kidnapping matters as a member of the Major Crimes Task Force.

He became a section chief in the International Operations Division at FBI Headquarters in 2021, focusing on global readiness and legal attache operations in Europe and Eurasia. He became chief of staff in the Cyber, Criminal, Response, and Services Branch in 2022, before taking his job in Chicago.

The FBI and federal prosecutors rang up a series of courtroom successes during Wheeler’s first year here in 2023. Nine people, including former Ald. Edward M. Burke, were convicted amid five trials resulting from public corruption investigations which dated back to 2014.

Those convictions were the result of “extremely labor-intensive, rigorous work that is hard,” Wheeler said.

“It’s hard on our people to have those long-term investigations,” he added. “To win convictions at trial is really the cornerstone of doing really good bureau work.”

Wheeler acknowledged he “can’t have a conversation with anybody without talking about violent crime” in Chicago. He calls the violent crime rate here “unacceptable,” but he says there are task forces “doing really good work” and serving the victims of crime “extremely well.”

“It is hard to see the light when it’s as cloudy as it is here on that,” Wheeler said. “We’ll continue to try to look for ways to do that better. But a lot of the reasons why that is so challenging are very systemic problems.”

As for the political violence and extremist threats that have caused him concern, Wheeler says he believes we’re in “an interesting time in history,” and he notes that the FBI has seen challenging moments before. 

“I think you really can’t go wrong by protecting Americans and upholding the constitution,” Wheeler said. “And that’ll be our part of it, however it shakes out.”