The four-day Democratic National Convention kicks off in Chicago on Monday, with all eyes in the political world and beyond focused on the Windy City.
The convention arrives following weeks of turbulence on the ticket, with President Biden ending his reelection campaign and Vice President Kamala Harris swiftly securing enough delegate support to make her the Democratic nominee.
The Midwest is represented beyond the convention's venue. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz was earlier in August named as her running mate.
Typically, the convention includes a roll call vote to formally nominate the candidates, but Harris cemented her status leading the presidential ticket earlier this month when she earned a majority of delegates in a virtual roll call. A ceremonial roll call is still expected to take place at the convention.
More than 4,000 delegates are expected to convene in Chicago to also approve the party's platform.
Several protests are expected around the United Center during the convention, including a pair of pro-Palestinian protest marches on the first and last days of the convention.
Organizers of those two protests have spent weeks wrangling with city attorneys over permits, and have said they are still fighting for a longer protest route than the city approved, arguing the city's route is too small for the expected crowds.
They are protesting the deaths of thousands of Palestinian civilians amid the ongoing war in Gaza, and claim Democrats are complicit because of their support for Israel.
Former CPD superintendent: If Sunday protest is any indication, Chicago should be fine
A protest was held without incident Sunday evening, and former Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson says if other protests during the Democratic National Convention are similar, Chicago will be fine.
"From what I saw tonight, I think it's going to be a very exciting time for the city of Chicago. There's going to be work involved, and you always have to be concerned," Johnson said. "However, if things go like they did tonight, we should be fine."
A protest downtown ahead of the DNC ended before 10 p.m. Sunday. It remained peaceful throughout, with no arrests reported.
None of the buildings or businesses along Michigan Avenue were boarded up over concerns about civil unrest—though some downtown buildings have been boarded up preemptively.
Michelle Obama to speak at DNC
First Lady Michelle Obama will speak at the Democratic National Convention this week.
She is expected to rally support in her hometown of Chicago for Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday night. That is the same night her husband, former President Barack Obama, is set to speak.
Mrs. Obama joins a lineup of big-name Democrats who will take the stage at the DNC—beginning Monday with speeches from President Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Mayor Brandon Johnson.
VP Kamala Harris lands in Chicago
Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Chicago at O'Hare International Airport around 7:45 p.m. The Illinois Democratic congressional delegation came to greet Harris.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Reps. Mike Quigley, Jan Schakowsky, Danny Davis, Bill Foster, Jonathan Jackson, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Brad Schneider, Sean Casten, Lauren Underwood, and Delia Ramirez were all spotted in the crowd.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, and Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton, and Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias also turned out.
From the airport, Harris' motorcade made its way downtown to the vice president's hotel. The motorcade was spotted as it traveled west on Chicago Avenue and crossed Michigan Avenue into a heavily fenced-off and secured area.
There are a couple of high-end hotels within the perimeter.
Traffic on Michigan Avenue came to a complete stop for about 40 minutes Sunday night in preparation for the vice president. Chicago Police blocked intersections in both directions. Pedestrians were also unable to cross the Mag Mile at Chicago Avenue.
CBS News Chicago is told the vice president will receive private briefings Monday and conduct internal meetings during the day.
First protest ahead of DNC grows
While the focus at the start of a protest downtown Sunday evening was reproductive rights, advocates for the pro-Palestinian cause dominated the protest group as it took to marching.
By the time the group was ready to march, the crowd had grown to 500 people.
Former police Supt. Eddie Johnson said there is a concern that protests related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the War in Gaza are more likely to draw outside agitators.
The protest remained peaceful as it advanced, and Johnson earlier explained that police need to exercise discretion when it comes to how officers are sent out to respond to a protest. In the case of the Sunday evening protest, officers on bicycles have been on the scene rather than officers in riot gear.
"Here's the philosophy—so a crowd like this, you don't want to come in as the police and agitate them and show them a hard look right off the bat, because what you're signaling to them is that you're ready for a fight, and that's just not the case with this protest group here," Johnson said. "Sometimes, you'll get groups that come in that you know are going to be agitators, that you have to have to show up in the BDUs—the battle dress uniforms and the riot helmets. But a crowd like this—I think that they're playing it correctly."
New DNC security measures in downtown Chicago have some feeling "like a police state"
With street closures and restrictions already in place at both the United Center and McCormick Place ahead of the Democratic National Convention, new security measures that went into effect this weekend have left parts of the downtown area in a state of lockdown.
Residents and businesses were still trying to navigate the new restrictions on Sunday, after large security fences went up along sidewalks in parts of the Loop, Gold Coast, and Magnificent Mile - with a handful of downtown streets also closed off.
Unlike those closures announced in advance around the United Center and McCormick Place, the new restrictions downtown were not formally announced until Saturday morning, after they were already in place, blindsiding many who live and work in the area.
Former Mayor Lightfoot: Harris, Walz have changed vibe among Democrats
CBS News Chicago Political Analyst and former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said Sunday that delegates have told her they are excited to come to the city for the Democratic National Convention.
"They're excited to be in our city, and those who have been here before are excited for the return visit, and I think the folks that haven't been here in a while are wowed by the splendor of the city of this time," she said.
In addition, Lightfoot said, the energy has changed compared with when President Biden was struggling as the presumptive nominee for another term.
"What I keep hearing from people is two things. One is feeling, I think, love for Joe Biden; sadness that it's come to this, but also appreciative of him stepping down. But the energy around Kamala Harris and now Gov. Walz—or 'Coach,' his folks are calling him—is really palpable. You can absolutely feel it."
Meanwhile, former Illinois Republican Party Chairman Pat Brady said presumptive presidential nominee Harris has an opportunity at the convention.
"She can tell her life story and weave it into the American story, kind of like President Obama did when he ran successfully," he said.
But Brady warned that there will be a "street fight," with former President Donald Trump trying to attack Harris in any way possible.
Lightfoot said Trump is already doing just that, but credited Harris with not taking the bait.
"She is taking the high road," Lightfoot said. "She's responding, but brushing of the attacks, but pivoting towards a positive vision of hope for the future."
Former police Supt. Eddie Johnson says department is prepared
The protest Sunday is expected to be dwarfed by protests later in the week, notably the protest by the Coalition to March on the DNC on Monday. This protest and others during the convention will focus on the pro-Palestinian cause.
Former Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said officers have received proper training for the worst-case scenario in a protest, and crucially, supervisors have also received proper training.
"The supervisors have to, you know, constantly monitor the skirmish lines to make sure the officers are in the right state of mind to be able to deal with protesters," Johnson said.
There have been concerns about whether officers have received proper training to protect protesters' First Amendment rights, or to distinguish peaceful protesters from those who might cause problems. But Johnson said he is confident that both officers and supervisors have received the proper training—in particular the supervisors who need to remove officers whose emotions might be getting too heated..
Johnson also expressed concern about "outside agitators" who might come to create chaos.
First protest takes off in downtown Chicago an evening ahead of DNC
A day ahead of the Democratic National Convention, protesters held a rally and march downtown late Sunday.
Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, a coalition of feminist and LGBTQ+ organizations held a rally on Wacker Drive just east of Michigan Avenue early Sunday evening. A march south on Michigan Avenue was to follow.
About 200 people were in attendance at the protest as of 5:30 p.m.—holding signs and in some instances Pride or Palestinian flags.
It was estimated that there were more police officers than protesters at that time. Police Supt. Larry Snelling was at the scene.
Officers were on bicycles at the scene, ensuring that everyone was kept safe and the crowd was kept together.
Chicago throws party for delegates at Navy Pier a night ahead of DNC
On Sunday evening before the Democratic National Convention was set to begin in Chicago, the city threw a welcome party for the thousands of delegates at the Navy Pier Ballroom.
Security was tight at the ballroom at the easternmost end of Navy Pier—where a few thousand people are expected to meet for the first official gathering of the DNC delegates of this convention.
Delegates from Ohio said at the event that the Electoral College map is in such flux, they believe states that have become reliably red, like Ohio, could be in play after this DNC week.
"Ohio has been mis-thought of as a red state. We're a gerrymandered state," said Ohio delegate and state Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland). "We are at play, and we are here to let people know that we are going to do what it takes to make sure we win Ohio."
Delegates are being shuttled directly from their hotels to a receiving line at the end of Navy Pier to make it easy on them, and to make the first event of this eventful week a smooth one.
Meanwhile, delegates from Illinois include everyone from the Rev. Jesse Jackson to Star Jones, and local mayors and faith leaders. The youngest delegate at the convention is a 19-year-old from the North Shore named Claire Satkiewicz.
DNC buses block Eisenhower Expressway off-ramp
Charter buses for the Democratic National Convention shut down the Eisenhower Expressway off-ramp nearest the United Center Sunday afternoon—forcing anchors Joe Donlon and Irika Sargent, producer Rebecca McCann, and intern David Gold to leave a CBS News Chicago van behind and walk up the Damen Avenue off-ramp.
Surprise DNC security measures crop up along Mag Mile, other parts of downtown Chicago
Preparations for the Democratic National Convention are in high gear, and on Saturday security measures surprisingly spilled over into neighborhoods nowhere near the United Center or McCormick Place.
At the Dirksen Federal Building in the Loop, security gates popped up overnight to prevent anyone from vandalizing the courthouse, while people living along the Magnificent Mile and Gold Coast discovered unexpected more security gates and road closures miles away from the DNC sites.
"They put this up like 5:30 in the morning. So they kind of did it under the wraps," Chris McClendon. "I live right over here at the Hancock Building. When I came outside, I had to go check the map to see what's going on. I thought this was at the United Center."
Along the Magnificent Mile near Chicago Avenue, roads have been blocked off, police officers are on standby, and large security gates have partially cut off access to sidewalks.
Chicagoans were fully aware of the security measures going on around the United Center and McCormick place for the DNC, but now communities nowhere near the convention locations are impacted too.
Poor People's Army camping out in Humboldt Park ahead of DNC protest
A group of activists who advocate poverty-related issues set up camp on Saturday in Humboldt Park, ahead of a planned protest march during the Democratic National Convention to bring attention to homelessness in the United States.
Several members of the Poor People's Army had walked from Milwaukee to Chicago after the Republican National Convention, and said they didn't get a warm welcome when they arrived in Humboldt Park.
Setting up their camp on the corner of California and Division, members of the Poor's People Army say they got an unexpected response to their arrival in Humboldt Park after weeks on the road.
"Our first taste was not very good, being greeted by two busloads of police officers when we have little kids. That's not quite the way to greet or welcome anybody to the city of Chicago," Poor People's Army national organizer Cheri Honkala said.
DNC brings excitement to Chicago, but also frustration from street closures and parking restrictions
For Democrats, excitement has been building for weeks. Delegates, staff, and volunteers from around the country started to descend on Chicago for the Democratic National Convention on Saturday, two days before the big event kicks off.
It's fairly easy to spot some of the people in Chicago for the DNC, who are wearing special lanyards holding credentials and red-white-and-blue attire; but you also can spot them by their sheer numbers, because they are arriving by the busload.
Several buses dropped off dozens of people Saturday afternoon at the Marriott Marquis Chicago, one of the hotels closest to McCormick Place. Visitors said they can feel the DNC excitement already.
"I am really thrilled and excited. Yeah, I mean, I'm here for the convention. It is like a breath of fresh air. It's amazing. This is the first time I've ever volunteered, and I'm so motivated to do it over and over again," said Myrna Forbes, from Ossining, New York.
But the DNC also has caused some frustration for people who live close to the United Center with street closures and parking restrictions now in place.
City is prepared for flood of migrants during DNC, but officials think it may not happen
The City of Chicago has been preparing for an influx of migrants ahead of the Democratic National Convention—but are the promises being made by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to send more buses to Chicago really empty?
Officials think it might just be.
"We projected kind of a low flow of people coming in, to a very high, and then began to plan for that," said Beatriz Ponce de León, Chicago's Deputy Mayor of Immigrant, Migrant and Refugee Rights. "At this moment, there's no evidence on the ground that there are new arrivals crossing the border ready to be sent to Chicago."
DNC security perimeters, protest route change to Chicagoans' day-to-day lives
Road closures are in place for the Democratic National Convention, security perimeters, and a protest march route are among the changes for which some Chicagoans have been forced to prepare as the event nears.
The closures are real, and are leaving an impact to those on the West Side near the United Center, and in the South Loop by McCormick Place.
No protests are planned near McCormick Place, road closures and security perimeters are still changing what day-to-day life looks like. Streets are fenced off and ready nearby in the South Loop for whatever or whoever tries to be disruptive.
DNC protest group wins fight to erect stage, sound systems, portable toilets during rally and march
A group of pro-Palestinian activists planning a series of protest marches during the Democratic National Convention declared victory Friday after city officials agreed to allow them to set up a stage, sound systems, and portable toilets in a park near the United Center.
The Coalition to March on the DNC had been granted permits to march from Union Park to Park 578 and back during the convention, but originally were not allowed to put up any stages or platforms, sound equipment, or portable toilets.
Accusing the city of blindsiding them with the restrictions, organizers on Thursday said they planned to ask a federal judge for an injunction on Friday to stop the city from enforcing those restrictions, accusing the city of violating their First Amendment rights. The coalition also accused the city of imposing those restrictions in an attempt to silence their protest against Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
By Friday morning, the group withdrew their motion for an injunction, writing in a court filing that they had received "certain assurances" from the city. A hearing that had been set for Friday was later canceled, and organizers announced the city had agreed to let them set up a stage, sound system, and seven portable toilets in Union Park throughout the DNC.
