The local host committee for next week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago said on Wednesday it had raised $94 million for the four-day event, a record for a nominating convention for either party.
The announcement comes five days before the start of the convention and after the Tribune reported in July that the committee, led by prominent Chicago Democratic donor Michael Sacks, had secured the commitments needed to reach the $85 million it agreed to raise as part of Chicago’s $30 million line of credit agreement that helped the city win its convention bid.
The host committee for Milwaukee’s Republican National Convention last month said it raised $85 million.
“Today’s announcement is a reflection of the unified love for our city, and we couldn’t be more grateful for the broad coalition of partners who came together to ensure Chicago could put its best foot forward at this convention,” Christy George, the host committee’s executive director and a former aide to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, said in a statement.
The official announcement names only three sponsors, AT&T, Invenergy and United Airlines, and a more complete financial picture won’t be publicly available until after next week’s convention. That’s when the host committee, officially named Development Now for Chicago, will be required to disclose details of its contributions and expenditures in federal tax and campaign finance filings.
But based on interviews and public records, the Tribune previously reported corporations, labor unions and Democratic political organizations have opened their checkbooks to help the Chicago DNC committee, which had hoped to raise up to $100 million to cover the full cost of the convention and related events.
The committee’s fundraising efforts are separate from the $75 million in federal funding Chicago and Milwaukee each received from Congress for security-related costs, including police overtime and equipment.
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Pritzker, who was instrumental in bringing the convention to Chicago and will play the role of de facto host, has not disclosed how much he personally contributed to the committee.
“Like so many people, I got a suite, and that costs money, but I didn’t pay any more than anybody else did for their space,” Pritzker told reporters Wednesday at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield when asked about personal contributions to the convention.
“I’m really excited about the fact that we raised more money than anyone expected, more than any other Democratic convention ever has,” Pritzker said.
Pritzker ampaign spokeswoman Christina Amestoy later clarified that the governor and his wife MK also made a direct contribution, without specifying the amount.
“In addition to traveling the country to help fundraise for host committee, the governor and the first lady have contributed in their personal capacity,” Amestoy said.
In a statement, Pritzker said because of the record total for contributions, “not only will we nominate Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in style, but we will be able to make investments for years to come that will benefit the best city in the world.”
Pritzker, an ardent supporter of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, gave $1.25 million to the host committee for that year’s DNC in Philadelphia, making him the largest individual donor, according to the committee’s disclosures to the Federal Election Commission.
Records show the governor did not contribute to the Milwaukee DNC host committee in 2020, when the convention was largely virtual amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But he did make contributions totaling more than $2.5 million that year to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, campaign finance records show.
Aside from United and Invenergy, the list of corporate contributors to this year’s convention, previously reported by the Tribune, features prominent Chicago companies such as McDonald’s, Archer Daniels Midland Co., CME Group, Cboe Global Markets Inc. and Peoples Gas.
Officials for many companies declined to comment on the size of the contributions. Some also gave to the Milwaukee RNC.
The Reinsdorf and Wirtz families, who own the United Center, where the prime-time action of the convention will take place, made a cash contribution totaling $2 million, according to a source familiar with the donation.
Available public records show other contributions as well.
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, for example, in June donated $250,000 from his campaign fund, federal campaign finance records show.
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Labor unions also have been big givers. Groups such as the Service Employees International Union, the United Steelworkers, the United Food & Commercial Workers, the National Association of Letter Carriers, and the American Federation of Teachers all have chipped in.
SEIU’s political education committee gave $875,000 in March, while the Steelworkers and UFCW each have given $500,000, according to federal campaign finance records.
On the state level, two funds affiliated with the Laborers’ International Union of North America — the LiUNA Chicago Laborers District Council and the Laborers’ Political League-Great Lakes Region — each have kicked in $1 million, Illinois campaign finances records show.
Tribune reporter Jeremy Gorner reported from Springfield.