The Democratic convention, to run from Aug. 19-22, 2024, is expected to draw up to 50,000 visitors to Chicago. Chicago last hosted a convention in 1996.
The Democratic National Committee selected Chicago to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, the Sun-Times has learned, with the city beating bids from Atlanta and New York.
The convention will take place Aug. 19-22 next year. It is expected to draw between 5,000 and 7,000 delegates and alternates and attract up to 50,000 visitors to Chicago.
Evening events will be at the United Center — the main site of the 1996 Democratic convention in Chicago — with daytime business to be conducted at the McCormick Place Convention Center, the location of the 2012 NATO Summit.
Delegates will be housed in about 30 hotels in Chicago.
For more than a year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., a co-chair of the Democratic National Committee and Mayor Lori Lightfoot have led a drive for Chicago to host the Democrats in 2024.
President Joe Biden called Pritzker to tell him about Chicago’s selection on Tuesday morning before leaving for Ireland.
Biden has been planning to seek a second term with his team putting together his reelection campaign. He will make an “official” announcement at a later date.
By selecting Chicago for the convention, Democrats are highlighting the importance of the Midwest “Blue Wall” states — Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. The governors in these states, all Democrats, were all reelected in 2022.How Chicago was picked
Chicago’s convention backers highlighted the abundance of downtown area union hotels; the large, centrally located convention venues near hotels; Midway and O’Hare airports; and the restaurants and museums in the city.
Then there were the political considerations. One of the main political arguments Chicago backers used was putting the convention in the Midwest reinforces the “Blue Wall” battleground states beyond the solid blue Illinois.
Last month, Democratic officials from Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri and Indiana — all supporting Chicago’s bid — wrote to Biden and DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison, underscoring the importance of Michigan and Wisconsin in retaining the White House in 2024.
Wisconsin’s election last Tuesday also reinforced the “Blue Wall” when voters in the Supreme Court contest, for the first time in 15 years, switched the court to a liberal majority when Milwaukee County Judge Janet Protasiewicz beat former Supreme Court Justice Dan Kelly, a conservative supported by Republicans.
