No Democratic National Convention repeat for Chicago in 2028

The Democratic National Convention will not return to Chicago in 2028, dashing hopes for the first United Center repeat since the Michael Jordan-era Bulls and delivering an election-year loss to Gov. JB Pritzker.

The Democratic National Committee announced early Thursday that it had narrowed its list of potential host cities for the party’s Aug. 7-10, 2028, presidential nominating convention to 2004 host Boston, 2008 host Denver and 2016 host Philadelphia, eliminating Atlanta and Chicago, the host of the 2024 convention, from contention.

Chicago’s elimination came just five days after the national party announced that Illinois would not be among the states holding the earliest Democratic presidential primaries in 2028. The Illinois Democratic Party, of which Pritzker is the de facto head and largest funder, campaigned for the state to move into the early window, with the governor and his allies touting demographics that closely mirror the nation as a whole.

Hosting the convention and holding an early primary both could have helped Pritzker, who is running in the November election for a rare third term as governor, if he decides to make a bid for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.

Pritzker, along with his wife, MK, shelled out $5.6 million from a trust fund to support the 2024 convention — a contribution that accounted for nearly 6% of the $97 million raised by that convention’s local host committee. It’s not the first time he’s opened his wallet for the party’s biggest stage. An ardent supporter of 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Pritzker gave $1.25 million to the host committee for that year’s convention in Philadelphia, making him the largest individual donor, according to federal campaign finance disclosures.

While it may have surprised some that Chicago was among the final five contenders for the 2028 DNC, the number of cities that are a good fit for the party is limited because there are few cities with strong union roots and enough hotel rooms to accommodate the thousands who attend.

Pritzker’s campaign had no immediate comment on Chicago being out of the running for the next convention.

A spokesperson for the national committee did not respond immediately to a request for comment on the convention selection process, and a social media statement from DNC Chair Ken Martin did not say why the three finalists were chosen.

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“Each city presented strong bids to host an inspiring celebration of our party’s future nominee and a critical step on our path to retaking the White House,” Martin said in a post announcing the winnowing. “We look forward to continuing to work with them as the DNC makes a final selection over the coming months.”

The possibility remains that the convention will return to Chicago in 2032, as the local host committee has also put in a bid for the subsequent party gathering.

“Chicago is proud to have hosted the best Democratic National Convention in history, and we were honored to raise our hand once again to be considered for 2028,” Emily Soong, a spokesperson for the Chicago 2028 Bid Committee, said in a statement. “We are deeply committed to the success of the next convention, and we are all-in to support whichever host city is selected in the process.”

The host committee was operating on leftover funds from its 2024 fundraising efforts and hadn’t begun actively raising money for a potential 2028 convention.

When DNC officials visited Chicago in May as part of the selection process, Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson trumpeted what was widely viewed as a successful 2024 convention and expressed optimism that a repeat would be similarly successful despite the need to coordinate with Republican President Donald Trump’s administration. The president has made Chicago and Illinois top targets throughout his political career, and some of that rhetoric became reality with last fall’s militarized immigration enforcement campaign known as Operation Midway Blitz.

In a statement Thursday morning, Johnson thanked the DNC for considering the city and called the 2024 convention a “tremendous success.”

“Chicago has proven time and again that it can successfully host major events on a world stage, and we remain a strong contender to host the 2032 convention,” he wrote.

Ald. Walter “Red” Burnett, 27th, whose ward includes the United Center, wasn’t fazed by the news but said he “would have never expected” the finalist cities.

The West Side alderman said the convention could have delayed a planned massive redevelopment of the area surrounding the arena, which served as the main venue for Chicago DNC events in 1996 and 2024.

“I’m not fretting about it,” he said. “I think there’s a lot of headwinds that make it difficult for Chicago to host it, but I don’t think it’s a slight or anything. We just had it.”

New York City, which hosted the Democrats in 1976 and 1980, was the last city to hold back-to-back conventions for the same party, but Chicago has been a repeat site.

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President Franklin Roosevelt received the Democratic nominations for a third and a fourth term at Chicago Stadium in 1940 and 1944; former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson was the party’s choice during conventions at the International Amphitheatre in 1952 and 1956; and the Democrats came to town in 1892 and 1896 to nominate Grover Cleveland and William Jennings Bryan, respectively. Republicans held five straight conventions in Chicago, from 1904 through 1920.

“This city is used to hosting great conventions, and we’ve done it before twice in a row, so I’m excited to welcome folks back and to be supportive of it,” Pritzker said at a May news conference at the observation deck atop 875 North Michigan Avenue, the former John Hancock Center, as Martin and other party officials wrapped up a three-day visit.