Chicago Overcomes DNC Skeptics With Calm, Parties and Sun

(Bloomberg) — For months, Chicago braced for 1968-style violence during the Democratic convention, while visitors were frequently reminded of the city’s reputation for crime.

What transpired was mostly peaceful protests, concerts by John Legend and The Killers, and four days of perfect weather.

The smooth week was a bright spot for the third-largest US city, which has grappled with persistent crime, record-high downtown vacancy rates, and high-profile corporate departures including Citadel and Boeing Co. The 50,000 visitors brought spending to Chicago’s hotels and restaurants but the potential benefit could extend well beyond the short-term economic boost.

“This has been so far nothing but upside for the city,” said Marc Farinella, a longtime Democratic political consultant and a senior adviser to the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. “People that attended are likely to come out with a favorable view of the city, and that will be very supportive of tourism.”

The spotlight on Chicago is also a boon for Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat. The billionaire, often talked about as having presidential ambitions, was instrumental in bringing the convention to Chicago — he famously entertained the organizers with a party at his mansion, a dinner from Michelin-starred chefs and access to a private sound check by the rock band Metallica when bidding for the event.

Pritzker kept up the charm offensive, with a speech at the United Center where he poked fun at his own wealth and praised Chicago. The governor and his wife also hosted a party featuring John Legend at the Salt Shed on Tuesday. 

The site of the almost century old Morton Salt plant that’s been repurposed as a concert venue was also chosen by financier Michael Sacks for a party with Brandi Carlile on Friday. Billionaire Michael Polsky’s Invenergy also hosted an event there. 

Even San Francisco Mayor London Breed embraced the party mood, making an appearance at a party featuring The Killers at a nightclub downtown.

“The economic impact will be felt for years to come — from the money spent at hotels, restaurants, and local retail this week by the city’s 50,000 convention visitors to the more than $100 million of contracts spent supporting the convention,” Pritzker said. “This convention was a success that has lifted up the city’s businesses and people both financially and reputationally.”

Each night of the convention — packed with musical performances, political luminaries and celebrity cameos, including Oprah Winfrey’s first-ever convention appearance — built toward Kamala Harris’ big moment accepting her party’s nomination.

Ahead of the event, Choose Chicago estimated it would bring an economic impact of at least $150 million to $200 million, but the numbers won’t be known until the fall.

Milwaukee, which hosted the Republican National Convention just a month earlier, is already reaping the benefits. Hotel spending for that week was about $19 million, almost four times higher than a year earlier, Mayor Cavalier Johnson said in an interview with Bloomberg this week.

Interest from other conventions jumped about 20% since Wisconsin’s largest city was picked to host the RNC, while ASAE, another major convention, recently announced it was coming to Milwaukee in 2034.

“Things like that are a direct output from hosting the Republican National Convention in our city,” Johnson said.

Chicago has hosted more presidential conventions than any other city. While most of the talk was about 1968, when Vietnam War protests erupted into police brutality, the city’s 1996 convention was peaceful.

Back then, Chicago was “looking its very best” and floor delegates danced to the “Macarena,” said Craig Sautter, co-author of “Inside the Wigwam: Chicago Presidential Conventions 1860-1996.”

Mayor Richard M. Daley, who was running Chicago at the time, worked to clean up the West Side ahead of the convention. That later allowed development to occur in the now trendy Fulton Market neighborhood, said Michael Reinsdorf, president of the Chicago Bulls and one of the owners of the United Center, which hosted both conventions.

The 1996 DNC “went off perfectly, and then all the development started happening,” he said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power” this week.

Chicago grappled with at least seven large protests this week, with thousands of demonstrators marching the streets of the Windy City. Still, there were only 74 arrests made, according to the police. 

“If the 1968 convention went down in history as the example of police brutality, then the 2024 convention will go down as the example of constitutional policing,” Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said at a press conference on Friday.

While data isn’t yet available, the outlook for hotels was bright. As of Aug. 5, occupancy on the books for the four nights of the convention was as high as 70% up from about 40% a year earlier, according to CoStar, a provider of real estate data.

Michael Jacobson, president and CEO of the Illinois Hotel & Lodging Association, said the week won’t be a sellout, but it’s going to be better than a year earlier. The period is usually quiet because that’s when kids normally return to school.

Leah Israel, a founding partner at Lafayette Advisors who helped the host committee raise a record $94 million for the DNC, said venues and restaurants are happy with the attendance.

“I’ve heard, with the exception of some transportation issues and it being longer lines and all of that, people seem genuinely very excited,” she said.

–With assistance from Elizabeth Campbell, Isis Almeida, Miranda Davis and Sam Hall.

(Adds Oprah Winfrey in 10th paragraph. A previous version corrected the former mayor’s name.)

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