Editorial: Democrats, Chicago is your proven convention choice

Chicago Tribune Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune on May 13, 2026

Published in Op Eds

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The 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago was a roaring success and you didn’t have to be a partisan to admire its logistical prowess.

We recall marveling at how rapidly, and seamlessly, the convention planners switched gears from touting the accomplishments of President Joseph R. Biden to those of Vice President Kamala Harris, even though the need to change those inspiring videos and line up “Coach” Tim Walz’s former students from Mankato West High School came with less than a month’s notice. The DNC opened in Chicago on Aug. 19; on the fateful morning of July 21, the Democrats still were preparing to nominate a different candidate. By Day One of the big United Center shebang, you’d never have known.

The people of Chicago, of course, played their part in the smooth operation of the 2024 convention. From our perch watching each night, the logistics were first rate: the United Center was hospitable, protesters were allowed to protest without invasive policing, delegates seemed to get where they needed to go without too much trouble, entertainment venues like the Salt Shed were going full throttle with convention-driven events and Michigan Avenue and the Fulton Market District both were bustling.

What did Chicago get? International attention and political centrality, both of which remain vital to the future of our city.

So we Chicago partisans are popping up again to remind the DNC planners, visiting this week and no doubt enjoying the big schmooze, that it’s hard to replicate the level and scope of hospitality Chicago offers these large-scale events, especially when this really is just a matter of dusting off the plans from a couple of years ago and making small adjustments (like that Metra train few of the delegates took after we handed them a VIP construction-free ride on the Kennedy Expressway). There is a reason why major conventions often commit to a particular city for more than one year; it’s much easier the second time around. And, of course, the DNC also benefits from the party’s dominance in Illinois and, especially, Chicago. This time around, the new Obama Presidential Center adds to the city’s attractions for visiting Democrats.

We’re guessing all of the above makes up the gist of Chicago’s DNC pitch this week, presumably with some prominent folks also observing that the Democratic Party has a lot of soul-searching to do before the convention and that those crucial internal debates are far more important to the governing prospects of the party than which major city gets to host the 2028 convention. Surely, then, it’s easier to return to a city that worked, and works, rather than waste all that time weighing the merits, and rolling the dice, on competitors.

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