President Joe Biden steps off Marine One upon arrival at the Soldier Field landing zone on Wednesday. Biden was in Chicago for a campaign fundraiser.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
President Joe Biden returned to Chicago on Wednesday to scoop up more than $2 million for his reelection bid, sources told the Sun-Times, tapping into the deep pockets of Democratic megadonors a month after collecting some $2.5 million at another fundraiser in the city.
Biden received a standing ovation from the roughly 70 attendees when he entered an ornate room at the Palmer House Hilton.
He spoke for 13 minutes, telling the crowd he was excited to be back in Chicago and looking forward to returning again for the Democratic National Convention in August.
Although there are lower-dollar events in the pipeline, the Wednesday fundraiser at the Palmer House for the Biden Victory Fund was aimed at megadonors: a $100,000 contribution was needed to be a “host”; $50,000 to be a “champion”; and $25,000 to be listed as an “advocate.” As in most big-dollar fundraisers, major contributors also get a photo with Biden.
President Joe Biden speaks about his Investing in America agenda at Gateway Technical College in Sturtevant, Wisconsin, on Wednesday. Biden touted a major investment by Microsoft in Racine, on the site where Foxconn had planned to build a semiconductor plant.
MANDEL NGAN/Getty
“People here know that the president has to be successful in the Midwest to win the election and are all-in on making that W happen,” Tamar Newberger, the Illinois chair of the Biden campaign Midwest finance council, told the Sun-Times in an email.
The co-hosts of the Wednesday reception were Jane and Bob Clark, Tom Carnahan, and Susan and Bob Wislow, according to an invitation obtained by the Sun-Times. Clark, a major backer of Biden and former President Barack Obama, is the founder of Clayco, the construction firm. Carnahan, a leader in the wind farm power industry, comes from a famous Missouri political family. Wislow, chief of Parkside Reality and a civic activist in Chicago, is a longtime Biden backer.
Biden spent most of his speech talking about former President Donald Trump, warning that another Trump presidency would set the country back.
“Asked if he thought if violence would occur if he lost, Trump said it depends,” Biden said, adding that Trump also said “it depends” on if he’d accept the results of a Biden re-election.
“Trump says when he loses again in November — that’s my phrase — if he loses again in November, there’d be a ‘bloodbath,’” Biden said. “The bad news is he means what he says. If you think I’m kidding, just look back at the sixth of January.”
The president said people shouldn’t forget about Trump’s presidency, including Trump “lying about the pandemic …and saying all you gotta do is inject a little bit of bleach into your system. I mean, for real,” Biden joked, saying Trump didn’t inject bleach into his body, instead, “he put it in his hair.”
Biden highlighted some of his accomplishments in healthcare, saying, “more people have health insurance today than ever before in the history of our country.” But the president again turned back to Trump, warning the former president is “still determined” to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and that Trump aims to cut Social Security benefits and Medicaid.
Biden also mentioned Trump’s comments about immigrants “poisoning the blood of the country,” saying he wonders what would have happened if our forefathers had the same attitude. He said Trump is the biggest threat to American democracy.
“He says the biggest threat is criminals coming across the border. Well folks, the biggest threat is the one Trump poses to our democracy,” Biden said.
Looking ahead, Biden said he wants to rid the country of gun violence and cut carbon emissions in half by 2030. He then said he’s never been more optimistic for the country’s future.
“Folks, I’m confident we’re going to do well in this election, in no small part because of all of you,” Biden said.
Biden’s speech did not mention Israel’s war on Hamas, which is devastating Gaza. Earlier, in Wisconsin, in a CNN interview, the president said he will not supply offensive weapons for Israel to use if it attacks Rafah.
Pro-Palestinian demostrators marched through the streets of the Loop on Wednesday during President Joe Biden’s visit.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
But loud chants through megaphones of “Free Palestine” echoed through the Loop streets outside the Palmer House, where more than 200 people gathered to protest Biden’s support of Israel. Protesters marched from Ida B. Wells Drive and Michigan Avenue carrying a large white sign reading “Biden: Halt All Weapons Transfers Now!” to the State Street entrance of the Palmer House, where police officers blocked access to the door.
Organized by U.S. Palestinian Community Network and the Chicago chapter of the Coalition for Justice in Palestine, the protesters called on Biden to immediately stop all supply of weapons to Israel. Hatem Abudayyeh, national chair of USPCN and a spokesperson for CJP, said Biden will have only himself to blame if he loses to Trump in November.
Biden was last in Chicago on April 8, following a visit earlier in the day to must-win Wisconsin. There, he had attended both official and political events in the battleground state.
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters rally at Congress Plaza Garden. In an interview with CNN, President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he will cease sending weapons to Israel if it launches an invasion of Rafah.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Wednesday’s flight on Air Force One from Mitchell Field in Milwaukee — the city hosting the Republican convention in July — to O’Hare took only 16 minutes — but a distance of light years in politics, with Illinois a solid blue presidential state since 1992 and Wisconsin seesawing between Democratic and GOP presidential contenders.
Biden helicoptered to the Soldier Field landing zone on Marine One, where he was greeted by Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle. Then, with the presidential motorcade heading to the hotel from Soldier Field, Chicago police blocked streets in the Loop, causing traffic jams. One driver told the Sun-Times it took 90 minutes to get from downtown to Hyde Park.
Police guard the State Street entrance to the Palmer House Hilton hotel in the Loop during President Joe Biden’s fundraising event. The hotel has served as headquarters for Bill and Hillary Clinton during their presidential campaigns.
Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Also on hand at the Chicago fundraiser were Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, who is a Biden campaign co-chair and was also with Biden in Racine, and Lee Rosenberg, a senior adviser to Gov. J.B. Pritzker who also was Pritzker’s campaign chairman.
After the fundraiser, Biden held meetings at the hotel, with no details provided. His motorcade left the Palmer House around 7 p.m.
The Palmer House has a storied political history. The hotel served as Bill Clinton’s headquarters during the 1992 primary when he won the Super Tuesday primaries and clinched the Democratic presidential nomination by winning the St. Patrick’s Day primary in Illinois.
In 2013, Hillary Rodham Clinton, a Chicago native, held her first presidential fundraiser in her hometown in the same hotel.
Duckworth, Krishnamoorthi co-host DC fundraiser for Biden
On May 1, Illinois Democrats Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi co-hosted a fundraiser Biden headlined at a hotel in Washington targeting Asian American voters. The event was held on the first day of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and a source told the Sun-Times the event raised a total of $1.1 million.
Duckworth introduced Biden. When the president came to the podium, he said, jokingly: “My name is Joe Biden. I work for Tammy Duckworth. Folks, I want to thank Tammy for that introduction — most of all, for her friendship and her partnership. And, Raja, your partnership and leadership in the House has been invaluable.”
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.
The Israel-Hamas war is heightening fears of unrest, but convention leaders say they’re confident in their partnerships with Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling and the U.S. Secret Service.
‘The X is the event,’ Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Chicago Sun-Times about the location, which will be the central hub for about 60 agencies involved in designing and implementing convention security.
President Joe Biden hits Chicago Wednesday for a fundraiser after a stop in Racine, where his visit will spotlight one of Donald Trump’s economic flops, the failed Foxconn plant, which never employed the promised 13,000 workers.
Biden was last in Chicago on April 8 for a fundraiser. Chicago, which is hosting the Democratic National Convention in August, is a big source of campaign cash.
On Aug. 20,1972, this reporter was assigned to cover the hordes of hippies, yippies, women’s libbers, Marxists, gay rights advocates, Black Panthers, and anti-Vietnam war vets tenting, talking, and toking it up in Miami’s Flamingo Park before the Republican National Convention kicked off.
The civil liberties group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday on behalf of Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, a left-leaning group whose marching permit was denied by the city.
“I remember coming out of my apartment one day and spotting Chicago cops dragging young protesters out of one section of Lincoln Park and shoving them into trucks, while nearby poet Allen Ginsberg was chanting in a circle of peaceful protesters not far away from the radical Abby Hoffman,” remembers Dan Webb, who later became a U.S. attorney.
Democrats are deeply focused on Wisconsin and Michigan to help bolster President Joe Biden’s re-election chances — and officials, in town for meetings hosted by the Democratic National Convention Committee, say they plan on showing voters a deep party contrast.
Votes on $70 million to help migrants and the bond issue to fund housing and economic development now are set for Friday. The Council was, however, poised to approve a slew of other measures.
In Chicago, the Democratic National Committee leaders will pick the members of the party’s platform, rules and credentials committees at the last party meeting before the August convention to renominate President Joe Biden.
Ald. Brendan Reilly said he’s concerned paying a settlement to Bryan Mejia, who suffered a fractured leg and torn ACL, will invite protesters expected for the Democratic National Convention to wreak havoc, then bombard the city with lawsuits.
Protesters, residents and other DNC observers would be prohibited from bringing laptops, large bags, scooters and other items into certain areas closest to convention attendees under a proposed ordinance.
Pro-Palestinian protesters greeted Biden outside the Drake Hotel on the Gold Coast, where the president had a campaign meeting before making remarks at the fundraiser.
A Chicago fundraiser for President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign is expected to collected $2.5 million for the Biden Action Fund, a joint fundraising committee consisting of the Biden for President operation and the Democratic National Committee.
This week, residents and businesses near the United Center and McCormick Place will receive briefings on how they will be impacted by convention security plans.
Cristina Pacione-Zayas, having spent the last 11 months learning the ropes of city government as Rich Guidice’s top deputy, was the natural choice to replace Guidice.
The mayor made it clear he would not remove the City Council member for appearing at a rally where an American flag was burned to protest U.S. support for Israel.
The funds will help target a big problem for a city opening its doors to President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Convention in August. Just 17.94% of registered voters in suburban Cook County and 25.7% of registered voters in Chicago voted in the March 19 primary.
In between meetings with film and business leaders in California, Gov. J.B. Pritzker will fundraise for the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, including a reception in Los Angeles, and for abortion rights ballot initiatives in Arizona and Nevada.
The groups — both part of the Coalition to March on the DNC — filed for parade permits to march during the Aug-19 convention, but the city denied them, saying it would tie up traffic and require police officers it could not spare.
A boy, 15, was in an alley near the 3800 block of West Lawrence Avenue at 3 p.m. when someone in a black sedan drove by and shot at him, hitting him in the left leg, police said.
Any frustration is welcome after school at GLOW: Trauma-Informed Mentoring for Girls. “This club is the only one we can express ourselves in,” one youth said while the girls create a “zen garden.”
Some longtime Bears fans were taken aback after the cost of ticket packages rose steeply, even with one fewer game at Soldier Field — resulting in price hikes for some fans of nearly 50% per game.
Obesity causes serious chronic conditions such as diabetes, osteoarthritis and cardiovascular disease. Treating them is likely more expensive than covering the cost of weight-loss drugs.
