The Democratic National Convention is headed back to the Windy City.
Returning to Chicago for the first time since 1996, the DNC will take place next year from Aug 19-22 at the United Center.
It is expected to draw 5,000 to 7,000 delegates and attract up to 50,000 visitors to Chicago. The city beat out bids from both Atlanta and New York for hosting duties.
President Barack Obama expressed
his joy his hometown bestowed with the honor saying, “There’s no place like Chicago! Michelle and I are thrilled to have the Democratic National Convention return to our hometown next year,” said in a tweet, which featured a photo of he and the former First Lady admiring the Chicago skyline.About 30 hotels in the city will provide accommodations to delegates who will, no doubt, come in droves in such a pivotal election year. For more than a year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker
, Sen. Tammy Duckworth, (D-IL)., a co-chair of the Democratic National Committee, and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot have led the charge for Chicago to host the Democrats in 2024.The price tag for the winning bid is said to have been $80 million.
President Joe Biden phoned Gov. Pritzker to inform him of the city’s victory Tuesday morning and DNC Chair Jamie Harrison made his way to Chicago to meet with Duckworth, Pritzker, Lightfoot and mayor-elect Brandon Johnson this morning.
By selecting Chicago for the convention, Democrats seem to be 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. With the exception of Illinois, the other three have been considered “battleground states” that Democrats desperately need to win in the 2024 Presidential election.
The convention will place a spotlight on the Biden agenda’s values as well as the president’s accomplishments. Vice President Kamala Harris started the year with a visit to Chicago in which she announced $144 million in federal funding to help rehabilitate the Illinois International Port Calumet River Bridges.
Chicago has now hosted the most political conventions of any major city