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player ready...The gleaming 96-foot craft has the right name, and it’s ready for the call.
Now John May, business manager for the yacht El Presidente, hopes that call comes–the one that will put President Clinton on his boat Aug. 28 for the 25-mile trip from Michigan City, Ind., to Chicago and the Democratic National Convention.
With Clinton planning to board a boat after stepping off a train from a whistle-stop tour, speculation has begun about which craft he’ll take for his dramatic entrance into the city.
White House advance people have been by “and looked around at our boat,” May said Tuesday. “But we understand that they have looked at a number of boats.”
El Presidente is docked on the north side of the Chicago River turning basin near Navy Pier. Several state delegations plan to use the boat for parties.
Besides its name, the boat has the right credentials for a presidential trip. Its former passengers have included Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and Ronald Reagan. Clinton attended a fundraiser on it before he was elected in 1992, May said.
Originally named the Innisfall, it was built for the J.M. Cudahy family of Lake Forest in the same boat yard as the Sequoia, the former presidential yacht. El Presidente was launched in 1939 and intended for pleasure use on the East Coast.
El Presidente operated as a private charter craft in the Washington area, but in the last year, it was brought to the Chicago area for a top-to-bottom refurbishing and charter cruises.
The yacht can carry 70 passengers and is smaller than some luxury charter boats in Chicago. Convention officials might opt for the tradition of El Presidente–as well as its ability to deliver Clinton directly to the Chicago River dock of the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers without so much as raising a bridge.
Choo, choo: It has been a logistical nightmare, but Clinton’s great train ride to the convention is finally on track.
As announced Tuesday, the 21st Century Express will start Aug. 26 in Huntington, W.Va., and roll into Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan before ending up in Michigan City.
Each day, Clinton will invite “citizens whom he regards as heroes,” such as Olympic stars, to ride with him.
Campaign officials said they are considering piping satellite video of the president’s whistle-stop trip into the United Center.
A postconvention bus tour, possibly starting in southern Illinois, is being considered.
Pick that up: West Side residents around the United Center are not the only ones who’ll have to endure checkpoints.
Near North Side apartment residents around the Sheraton can expect quick car searches by bomb-sniffing dogs, some closed streets and sidewalks, and additional street shutdowns for motorcades.
Perhaps the strangest warning is a notice to the tony high-rise dwellers: “Please refrain from throwing items off your balcony.” It seems that has become the favorite sport of some residents.
So sue me: Several protest groups have sued to challenge security plans restricting access around the United Center.
Now, another group has sued for the opportunity to make its points to delegates, reporters, mayors and others who will be partying Aug. 24 and 27 at Navy Pier.
ACORN wants to complain that Mayor Richard Daley opposes requiring companies doing business with the city to pay workers a so-called “living wage” of at least $7.60 an hour.
Daley has said such a law could raise city taxes.
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The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, which runs the pier, said it has limited access during the parties because of security concerns. Clinton, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Al Gore will attend at least one of the events.