The helicopters you've seen flying overhead the past couple days are, in fact, here to escort President Obama to his Wednesday fundraising visit in Chicago.

Mark Doles, director of operations for the DuPage Airport Authority, confirmed Monday morning that the helicopters our alert Patch readers saw Sunday were at DuPage Airport to make sure the president arrives safely.

He said the helicopter pilots are practicing a "dry run" as this is written, about 9:20 a.m. Monday.

Doles said he can't officially confirm or deny that the helicopters are for presidential transportation, but it's hard to keep the lid on something as obvious as a small squadron of military helicopters.

"We can't hide them," he said.

This is the second time the president has used DuPage Airport for travel purposes.

"They're comfortable operating here," Doles said. "They were here in August, and obviously there's a reason they came back."

Choosing DuPage over O'Hare and Midway is a nice compliment to DuPage Airport, which has won a number of accolades in recent months. In June, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood visited DuPage to tout the success of regional airports in bracing local economies. The airport, which was losing $2 million a year, is now making $2 million a year in profit.

The Chinook helicopters will only be here for a few days and probably will leave town with the president, most likely on Wednesday.

"I don't think he's even planning to stay overnight," Doles said. 

Editor's note: The photos attached to this story are from a Dearborn, MI, Patch article about a similar helicopter sighting there.