Chicago is bracing for the arrival of 50,000 visitors this week for the Democratic National Convention. I watched as residents and organizers prepared.
The convention will be held at the United Center, an arena on the city’s Near West Side. Additional party events will be held at McCormick Place, a convention center downtown.
Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota are expected to speak later in the week. Harris secured the nomination through a roll-call vote held online this month.
Two local artists, Nick Cave and Bob Faust, pasted posters at more than 20 locations around the city.
Protesters with the Poor People’s Army were stopped from putting up tents in Humboldt Park, a few miles from the convention hall. The group marched from Milwaukee to demonstrate in Chicago.
Protest leaders expect thousands of demonstrators in the coming days, possibly motivated by how the Biden administration has responded to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.