What happened: President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that the 2024 Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago, describing the city as a "great choice" to showcase the country's "historic progress" on his watch.
Why it matters: Biden is right. Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Here are nine reasons why Biden could not have picked a more fitting location in which to showcase his party's vision for America's future:
1) The rampant crime
Like most big cities the Democratic Party has controlled for decades, Chicago has a crime problem that its elected leaders are unable or unwilling to do anything about.
The city's murder rate has jumped nearly 40 percent since 2019, while car theft has more than doubled in the past year alone. Kim Foxx, the George Soros-backed district attorney in charge of prosecuting crime in Chicago, has a history of letting violent offenders off the hook. Convictions have dropped nearly 30 percent on her watch.
Naturally, the city's voters just elected a radical new mayor who in 2020 said "defund the police" was "an actual real political goal."
2) The crippling taxes
If there's one thing Democrats love even more than letting criminals walk free, it's raising taxes. According to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Chicago imposes one of the highest tax burdens on its residents, forcing average families to fork over more than 12 percent of their income—on top of what the federal government takes for itself.
3) The corruption
Chicago is routinely rated the most corrupt city in America, with dozens of public corruption convictions each year involving politicians and local business leaders. Not surprisingly, Illinois also ranks among the most corrupt states in the country.
Some context: Chicago hasn't had a Republican mayor since William H. Thompson left office in 1931.
4) The population decline
For the reasons cited above, residents (and businesses) are fleeing Chicago at a rapid pace. (See also: San Francisco and other Democratic-controlled cities in Democratic-controlled states.)
5) The Jussie Smollett hate crime hoax
Chicago was famously the site of the fake hate crime actor Jussie Smollett committed against himself. Democratic politicians immediately denounced the "attack," which Smollett claimed was carried out by two MAGA Republicans who somehow recognized the D-list actor.
Smollett was ultimately convicted of disorderly conduct for lying to police officers but avoided jail time—potentially as a result of powerful Democratic figures, including Michelle Obama's chief of staff, intervening on his behalf.
6) The memories (of the 1968 riots)
Hundreds of police officers and civilians were injured when a bunch of hippies and communists got rowdy outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Good times!
7) The Obamas
Chicago, where former president Barack Obama worked as a community organizer and listened to sermons from Rev. Jeremiah Wright, is also the site of Obama's presidential library.
The massive complex, still under construction on the city's South Side, has reportedly displaced long-term black residents who can't afford the rising cost of rent.
Fun fact: Obama's former chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, served as mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019. He left office in disgrace after it was revealed that he withheld footage of the police murder of Laquan McDonald in October 2014 in order to bolster his reelection campaign.
8) The fatass billionaire who wants to be president (but never will)
Perhaps the main reason Democrats chose Chicago as their convention site is because Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D., Ill.), the billionaire Hyatt hotel scion who clearly wants to be president, offered to cover the bill.
The New York Times has described Pritzker as the Democrats' "in case of emergency break glass" candidate who could become the party's presidential nominee in the event that Biden becomes mentally or physically incapacitated. (Sorry, Kamala.)
Some context: Pritzker (or any Democratic billionaire) has precisely zero chance of making it through a Democratic primary. (See: Michael Bloomberg's very brief 2020 campaign.)
9) The health care facilities
Chicago is home to Northwestern University and its massive health care system, which includes the "world-renowned" Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease. That's great news for Biden, who will be on the verge of his 82nd birthday by the time he formally accepts his party's nomination at the convention.
