民主党全国委员会的让芝加哥主办2024年大会的决定这是一个漫长的决策过程，让许多民主党人感到高兴，但竞争城市的其他人希望他们得到了首肯。
民主党全国委员会周二宣布，这座风城将举行提名大会，这是该党自2016年以来的第一次完整活动，此前冠状病毒疫情(coronavirus)将原定在密尔沃基举行的2020年狂欢变成了一场主要在网上举行的活动。芝加哥击败了亚特兰大和纽约市赢得了这次会议，由于该市的进步政治和在中西部热点地区战场的战略位置，让伊利诺伊州的立法者获得了胜利。
“这是芝加哥和伊利诺伊州在过去几十年里与乔·拜登和民主党保持一致的优先事项的证明。堕胎是合法的，受到保护，攻击性武器最近被禁止，芝加哥是美国最强大的工会城镇之一。伊利诺伊州民主党策略师汤姆·鲍恩说:“我们是一个完整的整体。
接受美国广播公司采访的民主党人说，芝加哥检查了该党在后勤、政治和政策方面最重要的几个箱子。这座拥有270万人口的城市是一个旅游中心，已经主办了两党的提名大会，现有的基础设施可以吸收海啸般的与会者。
它也是一个位于全国战场中心的蓝色州的进步城市。伊利诺伊州靠近密歇根州、明尼苏达州和威斯康星州，这三个竞争激烈的州是民主党明年竞选连任总统乔·拜登战略的核心。
“伊利诺伊州是中西部蓝墙州的支柱，也是在明尼苏达州、威斯康星州和密歇根州开展竞选连任工作的最佳地点，”鲍恩说。
对大会的报道可能会蔓延到邻近的州，帮助那些可能不住在伊利诺伊州的摇摆选民。
上周，进步人士布兰登·约翰逊(Brandon Johnson)当选为市长，而不是与保守派结盟团体有联系的更温和的民主党人，这突显了芝加哥的友好政治。
在政策上，在伊利诺伊州举行政党会议有助于避免与保守的州政府产生尴尬的分歧。拜登和伊利诺伊州州长J.B. Pritzker在很大程度上是一致的，该州在经济和堕胎等热点社会问题上采取了民主党的正统做法。这座城市的酒店也有强大的工会力量，这是亚特兰大所缺乏的。
最重要的是，普利兹克本人非常富有，拥有深厚的筹款网络，他亲自向全国民主党人保证，如果他们在芝加哥举办大会，他们不会负债。
“众所周知，中西部是执掌白宫和在2024年选举民主党人的关键。毕竟，现在芝加哥和整个中西部看起来像美国，是国家心脏的首都，”普利茨克周二在胜利的一圈说。
“伊利诺伊州是一个繁华的大都市，一个强大的农村传统，繁荣的郊区，更不用说植根于民权、工人权利和生殖权利的悠久历史，”他补充说。
2023年2月23日，伊利诺伊州州长J.B. Pritzker在芝加哥接受采访。
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然而，尽管选择芝加哥可能没有在纽约或亚特兰大烧毁桥梁，但这一决定让这两个城市有些不快，如果入选，这两个城市将获得巨大的关注和潜在的经济利益。
“从金钱、税收和形象的角度来看，纽约市都将从公约中获得巨大的利益，”纽约市民主党人汉克·申科普夫说，他提到了对犯罪的持续关注。“治疗犯罪的最佳方法是让人们四处走动，让人们相信没有犯罪，犯罪被高估了，而且没有人们想象的那么糟糕。”
亚特兰大的支持者反驳了民主党人对工会与芝加哥相比影响较小的担忧，称该市在为该党提供参议院和白宫方面的作用应该超过这些担忧。
“说出让你进入参议院的那个州的名字，这次还有一个差额:佐治亚州。说出一个让特朗普无法实现2020年梦想的州:佐治亚州。那些州的民主党人不应该看他们州的民主党大会吗?我们不能总是说我们只能在只有x个劳工旅馆的州开大会，”住在佐治亚州的Ice Miller律师事务所公共事务分部的合伙人Jarrod Loadholt说。
不过，其他城市的策略师说，任何感觉到的冷落都不会损害与国家党的合作。
“我们在财务上无法竞争。这没什么丢人的，”佐治亚州的一位民主党战略家说，他指的是普利兹克的财政保证。
“我们做了一个非常好的演示。他们认真对待我们。拜登政府每周都有人在格鲁吉亚，所以他们当然不会忽视我们。我们感谢他们。我们期待着继续为他们工作并再次当选。没有愤怒，也没有痛苦，”这位战略家补充道。
虽然拜登本人尚未正式宣布竞选连任，但他和他的政府成员正在全国各地宣传他执政前两年的记录，包括两党基础设施法案和提振国内半导体产业的努力。
前民主党全国委员会官员、与白宫有联系的民主党策略师卡伦·芬尼(Karen Finney)说，“在大会召开之前和召开期间，这也创造了一个独特的机会，让整个地区的人们参与进来，并突显拜登-哈里斯经济政策的积极影响，如基础设施法案。”。
到目前为止，拜登唯一的挑战者是自助作家玛丽安娜·威廉森和律师兼反疫苗活动家小罗伯特·F·肯尼迪，他们提交了竞选文件，预计将于4月19日宣布竞选。
Democrats praise, grumble over decision for Chicago to host 2024 convention
The Democratic National Committee'sdecision to have Chicago host its 2024 conventioncaps a lengthy decision making process, leaving many Democrats pleased but others in rival cities wishing they had gotten the nod.
The DNC announced on Tuesday that the Windy City will hold the nominating convention, the party's first full event since 2016, after the coronavirus pandemic rendered its 2020 bash, originally slated to be held in Milwaukee, a largely online affair. Chicago beat out Atlanta and New York City to win the confab, letting Illinois lawmakers take a victory lap due to the city's progressive politics and strategic location in the hot regional battleground of the Midwest.
"It's a testament to Chicago and Illinois's priorities aligning with Joe Biden and the Democratic Party the past several decades. Abortion is legal and protected, assault weapons were recently banned, and Chicago is one of the strongest union towns in the country. We're the complete package," said Illinois Democratic strategist Tom Bowen.
Democrats who spoke to ABC News said Chicago checked several of the party's most important boxes in terms of logistics, politics and policy. The city -- home to 2.7 million people -- is a travel hub and, having already hosted nominating conventions for both parties, has the existing infrastructure to absorb the tsunami of attendees.
It's also a progressive city in a blue state situated in the middle of a national battleground. Illinois is located near Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, three competitive states that are at the heart of Democrats' strategy to reelecting President Joe Biden next year.
"Illinois is the anchor of the blue wall states in the Midwest and the perfect place to springboard the reelection campaign's work in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan," Bowen said.
Coverage of the convention is likely to spill over into neighboring states, helping reach the kind of swing voters who may not live in Illinois itself.
The friendly politics of Chicago were underscored with last week's election of progressive Brandon Johnson as mayor-elect over a more moderate Democrat with ties to conservative-aligned groups.
And on policy, having the party powwow in Illinois helps avoid awkward disagreements with a conservative state government. Biden and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker are largely aligned, and the state has adopted Democratic orthodoxy on both economic and hot-button social issues like abortion. The city also has a strong union presence in its hotels, something lacking in Atlanta.
And to top it all off, Pritzker, himself wildly wealthy with a deep fundraising network, personally assured national Democrats that they wouldn't go into debt if they hosted the convention in Chicago.
"It's no secret that the Midwest is key to holding the White House and electing Democrats up and down the ticket in 2024. Now, after all, Chicago and the entire Midwest looks like America and is the capitol at the heart of the nation," Pritzker said in a victory lap on Tuesday.
"Illinois is home to a bustling metropolis, a strong rural tradition, thriving suburbs, not to mention a long-standing history rooted in civil rights and workers' rights and reproductive rights," he added.
Still, while picking Chicago may not have burned bridges in either New York or Atlanta, the decision ruffled some feathers in both cities, which would have enjoyed a surge of attention and a potential economic windfall if selected.
"The city would have received a significant benefit from the convention monetarily, from a tax perspective and from an image perspective," said New York City-based Democratic Hank Sheinkopf, referencing ongoing concerns about crime. "The best cure for crime is people walking around, people believing there is no crime, that it's overrated, [and] it's not as bad as people think."
And supporters in Atlanta pushed back on Democrats' worries about unions' smaller footprint compared to Chicago, saying the city's role in delivering the Senate and White House for the party should have outweighed those concerns.
"Name the state that gave you the Senate, and a margin this time: Georgia. Name the state that put 2020 out of reach for Trump: Georgia. Shouldn't the Democrats in those states see the Democratic convention in their state? We can't always say we can only have conventions in states that only have x-number of labor hotels," said Jarrod Loadholt, a partner in the Ice Miller law firm's public affairs branch who lives in Georgia.
Still, strategists in other cities said any perceived snub wouldn't harm cooperation with the national party moving forward.
"We couldn't compete financially. There's no shame in that," said one Georgia Democratic strategist, referencing Pritzker's financial assurances.
"We made a very good presentation. They took us seriously. And the Biden administration has someone in Georgia every week, so they are certainly not ignoring us. We are grateful to them. We look forward to continue working for them and reelecting them. There is zero anger and zero bitterness," the strategist added.
While Biden himself has not officially declared his reelection campaign, he and members of his administration are fanning out across the country to tout the record of his first two years in office, including a bipartisan infrastructure bill and an effort to boost the domestic semiconductor industry.
"The period leading up to and through the convention also creates a unique opportunity to engage people throughout the region and to highlight the positive impact of Biden-Harris economic policies like the Infrastructure Act," said Karen Finney, a former DNC official and a Democratic strategist with ties to the White House.
So far, Biden's only challengers are self-help author Marianne Williamson and attorney and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who filed paperwork to run and is expected to announce his bid on April 19.
