General
Fresh Mulch and Wet Paint: Chicago Cleans Up Before Democrats Descend
About 50,000 people are expected in the nation’s third-largest city for the Democrats’ convention. Some Chicagoans are thrilled. Others are fleeing town.
Workers rushed around in the shadow of the hulking United Center on Chicago’s Near West Side this week, planting flowers, spreading mulch, erecting tents and hoisting metal barricades.
Mattie Teague was watching it all with a frown from across the street. Standing in the hydrangea-lined courtyard of the halfway house where she works as a case manager, she said that a leaflet left at the facility had just delivered news: The block where she leaves her car would soon be cordoned off for security.
“It’s good that they brought the convention to Chicago,” she said. “But they could have done a little better with our parking.”
The Democratic National Convention will soon descend on Chicago, ready to meet the gripes, excitement and reservations of locals. No city has hosted more national political conventions, and Chicago is used to putting on giant events like the Lollapalooza music festival, a NASCAR race and St. Patrick’s Day parades. But the city is bracing for an influx of some 50,000 visitors — and worldwide media scrutiny — when the four-day convention begins on Monday.
Chicagoans have many questions.
Could traffic go from bad to worse? Might the city’s famed but inconsistent L trains actually start running on time? Will downtown be a tangle of angry protests?
Will the convention be a nuisance, or a party?
