‘A game-changer’: Chicago City Council members, residents react to return of Democratic convention
The Democratic National Committee announced Tuesday morning that Chicago will host the 2024 convention next August. Chicago beat out New York and Atlanta.
The LED screen outside the United Center was already spreading the news on Tuesday: the Democratic National Convention will be held there next year.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
O’Dell Boyd lived in Chicago when the city last hosted a Democratic National Convention in 1996. Now, she is “excited to show off our city” when it returns next year.
The South Loop resident said Chicago’s “amazing lakefront” and landscaping make the city “the best all-around” place to host the convention.
“I think it’s a good thing. Chicago is a wonderful place. We have everything to offer,” said Boyd.
The Democratic National Committee’s choice of Chicago for the August 2024 gathering was announced Tuesday, with Chicago beating out New York and Atlanta.
The convention, being held from Aug. 19-22, is expected to draw 5,000 to 7,000 delegates and about 50,000 visitors to Chicago, the Sun-Times previously reported. Aside from voting on a platform and other party matters, delegates’ main item of business will be officially nominating their presidential ticket.
O’Dell Boyd, walking in the South Loop on Tuesday, said she’s excited that the 2024 Democratic National Convention will be held in Chicago.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Daytime meetings and events will take place at McCormick Place Convention Center in the South Loop, while the main events in the evenings, including the eventual acceptance speech by the party’s presidential nominee, will be held at the United Center on the Near West Side.
Far South Side residents Cesar Sanchez and his wife, Gail,— who were eating at the Palace Grill near the United Center on Tuesday morning — said they are glad the convention is coming because of the business it will bring to the city.
“Anything that brings business to Chicago — whether it’s the Republican convention or the Democratic convention — it’s a good thing,” said Cesar Sanchez, a retired pipefitter.
Cesar and Gail Sanchez said they think the DNC will bring business to Chicago. The South Side residents were at the Palace Grill near the United Center on Tuesday.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Ella Tupkalo, who lives in the South Loop, was out enjoying a warm spring day in the neighborhood with her 1-year-old daughter, Arielle, when she got the news.
Tupkalo thinks the convention will be “good for business” and some on the City Council would agree.
On Tuesday, two members already were eagerly anticipating the economic boost.
In a tweet, downtown Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) called the convention “a game-changer for Chicago’s tourism & hospitality industry; hundreds of small locally-owned businesses; and tens of thousands of hospitality workers!
“It will fill hotels, bars, restaurants, museums & cultural institutions. A strong economic catalyst just when we need it!” Reilly wrote.
This is a game-changer for Chicago’s tourism & hospitality industry; hundreds of small locally-owned businesses; and tens of thousands of hospitality workers! It will fill hotels, bars, restaurants, museums & cultural institutions. A strong economic catalyst just when we need it! pic.twitter.com/wNKPWh57Wu
Pilsen Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th) called it an opportunity to showcase Chicago as “a blueprint for other cities instituting meaningful progressive policies.”
“I think it’s meaningful to have that conversation here after a mayoral election that really put a contrast between different wings in the party,” Sigcho-Lopez said of Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s victory over the more conservative Paul Vallas. “We landed on the side of working people in a hugely important election.”
Sigcho-Lopez said he wants to see the influx of visitors — and their out-of-town dollars — to spread beyond the United Center and McCormick Place. “We have 77 beautiful community areas. I hope that economic activity is shared across the city,” he said.
Some residents, however, expressed concern about the convention. Nae Shepard, who works in security at a public library near the United Center, said she wished the city were using the money it is spending on the convention for shelters and community centers.
“I don’t think this is necessary,” Shepard said about the convention.
Katya Lysander, who works at a social service agency near McCormick Place, said she expects “a big crowd.”
“I’m sure the CTA is going to be a zoo, but I’m not really worried,” Lysander said. “I’m sure it’s going to be bigger than some of the other big conventions that happen, but the auto show every year is similar.”
Isabella Weiss, a talent agent who works in the South Loop, said having the Democratic National Convention in Chicago is “exciting,” and wants politicians to focus on reproductive rights in 2024.
Anthony Vazquez/Sun-Times
Robert Mitchum said he is confident the United Center can handle the traffic the event will bring. The West Loop resident said he does not see traffic issues during Bulls and Blackhawks games at the United Center.
Law enforcement and crowd control were issues Mitchum said he thinks may come up ahead of the convention next summer. Mitchum was a young boy during the Grant Park riots at the 1968 convention in Chicago, but he said he does not think anything like that will happen again.
Isabella Weiss, who works in the South Loop, said “it’s exciting” that the DNC will be coming to Chicago, but she does not think it will impact her much.
“I haven’t really paid attention to the conventions before,” Weiss said. “It seems to be more for the big donors, rather than average, everyday citizens.”
As a registered Democrat, Weiss she said she hopes to see politicians focus on reproductive rights and gun control in the 2024 election.
Lysander, also a Democrat, said hopes Democrats will discuss paid family leave and universal basic income. She added that she wants to see the Democratic Party “meet the needs of working people and Americans.”
If the president stays in the race, as it seems he will, the question will be which Joe Biden will show up in Chicago to accept his nomination — the faltering debater or a president fit to serve?
A coalition of community organizations says the policy still fails to draw a line between crowds protected under the First Amendment and those engaged in illegal activity such as looting.
Pat Cleary, president of Chicago Fire Fighters Union Local 2, predicted “hundreds” of members would participate in the two-hour march on Michigan Avenue on July 6.
Reproductive rights and LGBTQ+ groups won a permit for a 1-mile march Aug. 18 past the Bean, Millennium Park and hotels where DNC delegates will be staying.
Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle said law enforcement groups have been prepping for more than a year and have coordinated with 15 public safety entities — including the Chicago Police Department.
It’s part of a critical voter outreach plan in place since President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign and extended into the halls of the White House — as Biden combats Donald Trump and his army of online supporters.
Many Democrats argue democracy itself is in danger this election cycle. This danger demands we fiercely defend the right to protest throughout the summer and the next four years.
The city is required to provide police escorts for all convention committee personnel who are “delivering credentials to state delegations and the media at their respective hotels.” It also must provide “special” security for “delegates and other dignitaries.”
Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley “saw this as an opportunity to show a city that does work — not a city that crumbles under the pressure of protesters,” said Leslie Fox, executive director of the 1996 convention’s host committee. “The stakes were pretty high.”
Lollapalooza is typically the busiest hotel weekend of the year for Chicago. But a Sun-Times search shows average daily hotel room rates during the Democratic National Convention may be nearly $50 higher during its four-day stint in Chicago.
Federal and local officials have repeatedly said they are ready for what could be one of the biggest events to hit Chicago in decades. It’s been described by one Chicago police official as bigger than the 2012 NATO Summit and 1996 Democratic National Convention.
“This is just a target-rich stew for the Russians to try lots of things and see what works,” says Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic International Studies.
Trump and Biden face crucial strategic decisions on how to play the conviction. They’ll meet for their first debate June 27 in Atlanta, Trump will be sentenced July 11 and the Republican National Convention kicks off July 15 in Milwaukee.
Inspector General Deborah Witzburg warned that using pepper spray and corralling protesters ‘risks escalating tensions and violating constitutional rights of lawful demonstrators.’
Gov. J.B. Pritzker in 2022 spoke before state Democratic Party leaders in New Hampshire and Florida, fueling speculation that he was plotting a presidential run in 2024. Since then, he’s repeatedly tamped down questions about his presidential ambitions.
Before the Chicago convention in August, Democrats will hold a virtual roll call to nominate President Joe Biden to a second term in order to qualify for the Ohio ballot, columnist Lynn Sweet writes.
The lack of a defined, public strategy isn’t a criticism of city officials. The goal is to show that Chicago can embrace protest and the exercise of free speech rights.
With 89 days until the convention kicks off, organizers and state and local officials meet with the media and woo influencers who could connect with hard-to-reach voters.
Hay talento sin aprovechar que nuestra ciudad tiene que ofrecer, y es fundamental impulsar más recursos permanentes como los que se están construyendo para la convención.
The Southern Poverty Law Center urged Mayor Brandon Johnson and Police Supt. Larry Snelling to reconsider the decision not to take disciplinary action against eight officers connected to the Oath Keepers, six of whom admitted to joining the group.
Supreme Court Justice John Roberts says the nature of U.S. presidential power entitles an ex-president to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for official acts. But Roberts said Monday there’s no immunity for unofficial acts.
DeRozan was considered the “King of the Fourth” for three seasons with the Bulls, but the final straw in him possibly re-signing hit last week when Alex Caruso was traded to the Thunder for Josh Giddey.
![Celeste McCall, of Washington, reacts in confusion, Monday, July 1, 2024, outside the Supreme Court in Washington after decisions were announced. "I'm confused I was told [Trump] has no immunity for unofficial acts," says McCall. "I don't even know what that means. I'm beyond confused."](https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cd7e510/2147483647/strip/true/crop/8640x4849+0+456/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F73%2F4c%2F10d8e8194659a467ab19d050e881%2Fap24183536886727.jpg)
