(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- When President Joe Biden called Gov. J.B.
Pritzker on Tuesday morning to tell him Chicago landed the 2024 convention, the governor vowed the city would “throw a huge party” to celebrate his successes.
The call came more than a year after Pritzker first pitched DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison on hosting the convention. And it came 39 years after Pritzker attended his first Democratic convention, in a role he described as a behind-the-scenes “gopher.”
Biden called Pritzker with the DNC news just before boarding Air Force One for Ireland. Biden thanked Pritzker for “all of his support,” and told him, “I just want you to know we’re planning on having the Democratic convention in Chicago,” according to a source with direct knowledge of the call.
Pritzker said, “You know that Chicago is your kind of town. We’re going to throw a huge party, and it’s going to be a real big celebration of all of your successes.”
Biden in return said, “I know you’re going to throw a huge party. I’m very excited and send my thanks to [First Lady] M.K. as well.”
Staffers, who described his desire to get the DNC as “relentless” said the governor was “ebullient” on Tuesday.
The governor said he has attended every DNC since 1984: “I was a volunteer working inside the convention with the ability to get anywhere, which was the coolest thing about it as a young person,” Pritzker said. “But I was a gopher, working in whatever way that the DNC asked me to.”
Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson learned Chicago would host the convention when he got a call from someone at the White House on Tuesday morning.
Johnson, who will be sworn-in as mayor on May 15th said he was so excited to get a call from the White House that he saved the voicemail “to make sure that my grandchildren hear it one day.”
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Meantime, national and state Republicans seized on the city’s crime woes.
Tommy Pigott, Rapid Response Director for the Republican National Committee, said in a statement that “Democrats just chose one of the worst-run cities in America for their convention: Chicago. Illinois.” Republican Party Chair Don Tracy said it’s no surprise the DNC chose Chicago, “where they can put the city’s failed far-left policies on display for the world to see.”
In contrast, Chicago’s civic and hospitality leaders were euphoric.
They exulted that the city will again have a national forum for showing off its best side, but they said they hope the real payoff comes from other conventions and tourism drawn to Chicago.
“It’s a game-changer,” said Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association. He said the four-day gathering that draws 24/7 media coverage could “change the perception of people who perhaps haven’t been to Chicago in years.”
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With more visitors coming, he said, hotels now can charge room rates almost equal to those of 2019 — before the pandemic. But he said occupancy rates are still trailing and might not hit pre-pandemic par until 2026.
On its own, the Democratic convention is a sizable event, with an estimated 50,000 attendees. Choose Chicago, the city’s convention promoter, estimated it will generate $150 million to $200 million.
But its real value is in TV exposure. As a direct economic engine, it’s just another big event in a city known for them. McCormick Place, the city’s convention complex, is expected to host at least seven events in 2024 with attendance equal to or exceeding the political event.
The direct spinoff from the Democratic convention may disappoint. Delegates sometimes have little time or inclination to venture around the city, mostly because political organizations and other groups have a full slate of receptions and parties. Political activists say that if you pay for a meal at a party convention, you’re not really trying.
Nevertheless, Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, is thrilled by the announcement. “We got the mother of all conventions,” he said. Toia called it a “shot in the arm” for a city already seeing a tourism comeback.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire & Chicago Sun-Times 2023. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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