Live updates from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago
Vice President Kamala Harris gives her acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (CNI photo by Andrew Adams)
The CNI news team is on the scene at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
CNI NEWS TEAM
Capitol News Illinois
news@capitolnewsillinois.com
The CNI news team is on the scene at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Check back frequently for live updates.
DNC DAY 4
DNC Concludes
The DNC concluded Thursday night with Vice President Kamala Harris' acceptance speech. We will have further coverage later today but will no longer be updating this post.
7:15 p.m. - Madigan addresses DNC crowd
The floor is a bustling place just hours before Harris is set to give her acceptance speech.
5 p.m. - Day 4 video recap
3 p.m. - Read: Pritzker, Dems push to widen abortion messaging beyond ‘social issues’ silo
Moving abortion rights in particular out of the silo of “social issues” is what Anne Caprara – Gov. JB Pritzker's chief of staff and a longtime Democratic strategist – sees as a path forward for the party.
"We like to talk about these things as ‘social issues,’” Caprara said, using air quotes to emphasize her point. “They're actually very much economic issues.”
Read Hannah Meisel's story here
9:48 a.m. - DPI chair closes breakfast
Democratic Party of Illinois Chair Lisa Hernandez closed the final morning breakfast by thanking a long list of organizers and leading a chant.
"Obama used, 'yes we can,' and now we should use it for Kamala Harris: 'Yes she can.' Let's make this happen," she said.
9:30 a.m. - Union theme continues
Brent Booker, general president of LIUNA, is addressing the delegation about the importance of unions.
“When you see Joe Biden lean in on his speech on Monday night, talking about unions and how proud he is to say the word union, Joe Biden brought the word union back in the American vocabulary from the biggest pulpit, the bully pulpit, in the world,” he said.
He's the latest in a long line of union speakers to the Illinois delegation.
Read more: Amid a ‘really, really big week for labor,’ Illinois unions, Democrats held up as model
9:20 a.m. - 'Access to way too many uteruses'
Comptroller Susana Mendoza recycled a line from last week’s Governor’s Day festivities at the State Fair.
“Now listen, ladies, Donald Trump has led a full-on assault on our reproductive rights,” she said. “No guy, but especially that guy should have any say in what we do with our uteruses. I don't know about you, but as far as I'm concerned, Donald Trump has had access to way too many uteruses in his lifetime, and he shouldn't have access to one more.”
Read more: Notes & Quotes: From ‘dad jokes’ to ‘embrace the boring,’ Illinois Dems praise new national ticket
9:13 a.m. - Budzinski: ‘We can win them back’
U.S. Rep Nikki Budzinski told Democrats “we need to continue to show up in our rural communities.”
“I think we need to show up. We need to listen as Democrats, we need to go into rooms that sometimes are uncomfortable for us and have hard conversations and listen to what the other side is saying,” she said. “Because we can win those voters back. We can win them back. But we can't win them back unless we show up.
8:55 a.m. - U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto – who last year gave the keynote speech for the annual Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch – said she feels “a joyful energy” for the Harris-Walz ticket.
“They're scaring people to the polls,” she said. “As Tim Walz says, you know, fear works, but it's not inspirational and it's short-term.”
She said it was Jan. 5, 2021, when Democrats learned they flipped the Senate, feeling an elation that was short-lived.
“And then January 6 came, and the right wing decided, no, we don't want you to move forward. We are going to push back. And we saw what happened to the Capitol that day,” she said.
8:43 a.m. - Why Alexi Giannoulias 'lost it'
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias mentioned an emotional moment from the Wednesday night speech of Minnesota Gov. and Kamala Harris’ running mate Tim Walz. During the speech, Walz’s son Gus became tear-eyed and could be seen yelling “that’s my dad.”
“I love Oprah, and I love seeing Barack and Michelle, and I love seeing these great speakers and the pageantry and the fun. But I have to tell you, as the father of four daughters, when I saw Tim Walz's son screaming, ‘that's my dad,’ I lost it,” he said.
8:30 a.m. - Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, notable for his election in a deep-red state, noted that in November, he “beat Donald Trump's hand-picked candidate by five points.”
“I'm here today because we've got to remember that as Democrats, we have to fight in every single part of America,” he said. “We can't think about this country as red states, or blue states, red counties or blue counties, because in each and every one of those counties, there are American families who deserve good leadership.
In Kentucky, he said, the strategy is not turning areas from red to blue, but rather it’s a “red-to-pink strategy.”
8:20 a.m. - Durbin: Vance ‘single-handedly’ blocked prosecutor appointment
Illinois’ senior U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, praised Vice President Kamala Harris’ role on that committee and criticized Trump’s vice presidential nominee, JD Vance.
“In the Senate, any single senator can stop the business of the United States Senate,” he said. “JD Vance stopped a critical element of law enforcement and justice in America single handedly.”
Durbin said Vance stopped the nomination of Rebecca Lutzko to be U.S. attorney in the Northern District of Illinois. And when Durbing asked why, he said Vance told him it was “to protest your treatment of Donald Trump.”
“We do not need to hear JD Vance preaching about law enforcement,” he said.
Durbin also noted the Judiciary Committee’s track record of appointing judges during President Joe Biden’s term.
“So far, 205 nominees of the Biden administration have been approved to lifetime appointments to fill those benches, and I will tell you they'll make a difference,” he said. “When you hear in the news all the bad rulings from some of these judges, you have to realize that each one of them was chosen through the same process.”
8:15 a.m. - 'Winning takes more than voting'
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle urged attendees to not only vote but to help out in swing states.
"We need to turn out here at home, and we need to work with our neighbors in Michigan and Wisconsin to deliver those swing states, because winning takes more than voting," she said.
8 a.m. - Final day begins
The Illinois delegation's final breakfast has begun, with Terry Healy, vice president and regional manager for LIUNA, continuing the delegation's organized labor theme. He also continued a hip hop theme that's been a running bit at the morning breakfasts, citing Public Enemy's "Can't Truss It," referring to the Republican Party.
Other scheduled speakers include: Toni Preckwinkle; Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias; Rep. Nikki Budzinski; Brent Booker LIUNA general president; Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear; Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto; Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza.
DNC DAY 3
8:45 p.m. - Pritzker seated next to Clinton family
There were few speakers with Illinois ties on Wednesday night, but Gov. JB Pritzker was still visible in high places at the DNC. Editor-in-Chief Jerry Nowicki is covering from his home in Springfield while the CNI team is on the ground in Chicago.
4 p.m. - DNC Day 3 video recap
2 p.m. Read our stories from the DNC
There's a break in the action between the delegation breakfast and the evening activities. Here's the stories we have written from the DNC thus far:
Tuesday night speeches:
Obama legacy continues with Harris nomination, DNC speech in Chicago
In primetime DNC speech, Pritzker leans into role of benevolent billionaire
DNC Breakfast Recaps:
Amid a ‘really, really big week for labor,’ Illinois unions, Democrats held up as model
Illinois Democrats see abortion rights as ‘fundamental’ issue in 2024
As DNC opens in Chicago, state leaders tout Illinois as a ‘model of Democratic success’
10: 30 a.m. - Pritzker 'Think Big' event
Hannah Meisel is covering Gov. JB Pritzker's "Think Big America" event.
9:15 a.m. Warnock speaks to Illinois delegates
Sen. Raphael Warnock embraced a familiar theme for Democrats this week: Embrace the momentum but don’t stop working.
“Don't take anything for granted. I mean, we feel real good right now. And I, you know, I want this excitement. I get mad when folks try to pour water on our excitement. No, we need this excitement, but when we come down from this mountaintop, we gotta go down in the valley and do the work,” he said.
9 a.m. - 'Really, really big week for labor'
Illinois AFL/CIO President Tim Drea told the delegation the DNC thus far “has been a really, really big week for labor.” Union speakers have had spots on the convention floor and especially at Illinois’ breakfasts.
While Drea frequently noted Democrats and unions “get shit done,” he also drew a contrast to between the DNC and the RNC.
“At the RNC last month, there were no presidents, former presidents, no former vice presidents, or even a wife of a candidate spoke to the Republican National Convention,” he said. “That's crazy. And then the contrast between Barack Obama and Hulk Hogan, I don't understand it.”
8:47 a.m. - Raoul addresses the crowd
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul noted he wore sneakers to address the delegation because “I was out a little late last night.”
Raoul invoked a hip-hop reference, citing Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us."
"The MAGA Republicans are not like us," he said.
8:40 a.m. - Buttigieg says Dems are winning on the issues
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg addressed the delegation urging Democrats to continue to trumpet their positions on the issues.
“We got to remember that for some reason, Democrats have this habit of sometimes feeling like our views must be unpopular. The reverse is true,” he said.
“Americans agree with us that it is the wealthy who are not paying their fair share and the middle class it needs a break, not the other way around,” he said. “Americans agree with us that in a free country, you are free to join a union and get a good day's wage and benefits for a good day's work.”
He mentioned other positions, that “you can love who you love” and that “a woman's health care decisions are up to her.”
“Americans agree with us that the best way to keep our children safe is not to censor Toni Morrison paperbacks and keep them out of the school library is to make sure that gun violence does not come to the steps of our schools or our homes or neighborhoods,” he added.
8:24 a.m. - Johnson: 'Get the politics right'
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a progressive Democrat and former teacher, praised the fact that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is a former social studies teacher in addition to being Kamala Harris' running mate. And he spent time discussing what it means to be a Democrat.
"We got to get the politics right," he said. "That's why the investments that we're making in the state of Illinois and the transformation that's happening in Chicago is because we're getting the politics right. We're not just simply beholding ourselves to this sort of arbitrary definition of what it means to be a Democrat."
He also included a quip: "The only thing that's most more painful than watching the Republican Party is break dancing at the summer Olympics."
8:10 a.m. - Unions still a mainstay
Bob Reiter, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, kicked of the Illinois delegation’s Wednesday breakfast. He’s the latest in a long line of union leaders to have addressed the delegation.
“All eyes are on our state this week. So what do we have to show them?” he said. “We'll show them how labor and Democrats work together to improve the lives of working people. We'll show them how we passed the constitutional amendment protecting workers’ rights. We'll show them how we banned captive audience meetings in this state, and we'll show we'll show them how we raised the minimum wage, expanded paid leave, and put an end to last minute schedule changes.”
Next up is Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, who takes the mic with a raspy voice in the middle of a long week.
"I have my preacher raspy voice on today, because you are in the most sanctified, most dynamic, greatest freaking city in the world, the city of Chicago," he said.
8 a.m. - Warnock, Buttigieg to address Illinois delegation
Speakers for Wednesday’s Illinois delegation breakfast include: President of the Illinois AFL-CIO Tim Drea; Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson; Sen. Dick Durbin; AFL-CIO Secretary Treasurer Fred Redmond; Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul; Secretary Pete Buttigieg; Sen. Raphael Warnock.
DNC DAY 2:
10:20 p.m. - Obama delivers keynote
Former President Barack Obama criticized former President Trump, saying, "We do not need four more years a bluster and bumbling and chaos. We have seen that movie before, and we all know that the sequel is usually worse."
"It has been a constant stream of gripes and grievances that's actually been getting worse now that he's afraid of losing a combo," he said of Trump. "There's the childish nicknames, the crazy conspiracy theories, this weird obsession with crowd sizes."
On Harris, he said: "We need a president who actually cares about the millions of people all across this country who wake up every single day to do the essential, often thankless work, to care for our sick, to clean our streets, to deliver our packages. We need a president who will stand up for their right to bargain for better wages and working conditions, and Kamala will be that President."
9:20 p.m. - Sen. Duckworth calls Trump "ole cadet bonespurs"
8:40 p.m. - Pritzker begins primetime address
Gov. JB Pritzker's primetime address lasted just under eight minutes, and gave homage to two other famous speeches by Illinoisans: Abraham Lincoln's "House Divided" speech and Barak Obama's 2004 DNC speech about there being no red states or blue states. Obama will give the keynote address this evening.
"Illinois' presidential pedigree is unmatched, and given that Vice President Kamala Harris spent some of her early life right here, I speak for the entire Illinois delegation when I say we claim her too," he said.
He also touched on a matter that was a major topic at the morning's Illinois delegation breakfast.
"Here's the thing, Americans don't want to be forced to drive 100 miles to deliver a baby because a draconian abortion law shut down the maternity ward," he said. "Americans want the hope of giving birth through IBF, not the fear that it might be taken away."
8:27 p.m. - Protests ongoing outside as Pritzker set to speak
Outside the convention protestors have held large and small demonstrations around Chicago. While the largest protests near the convention have remained mostly peaceful -- with only a handful of arrests made among thousands of attendees -- protestors near the Israeli consulate clashed with police Wednesday evening, leading to physical altercations and more arrests.
The programming inside appears to be holding close to schedule, with Gov. JB Pritzker slated to follow progressive U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.
4:30 p.m. - Tuesday evening schedule
Gov. JB Pritzker is scheduled speak during the 8 p.m. hour while former President Barack Obama will be the keynote speaker.
5:30 p.m.
Call to Order
The Honorable Jaime R. Harrison
Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Gavel In
The Honorable Mitch Landrieu
DNC Night 2 Co-Chair and Committee Co-Chair
Invocation
Rabbi Sharon Brous
IKAR
Imam Dr. Talib M. Shareef
The Nation’s Mosque
Pledge of Allegiance
Joshua Davis
National Anthem
Aristotle “Aris” Garcia Byrne
Remarks
Jason Carter
Grandson of President Jimmy Carter
Remarks
Jack Schlossberg
Grandson of President John F. Kennedy
Remarks: “Project 2025—Chapter Two: The Economy”
The Honorable Malcolm Kenyatta
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
6 p.m.
Remarks
Kyle Sweetser
Former Donald Trump voter
Remarks
Stephanie Grisham
Former Trump White House Press Secretary
Remarks
Nabela Noor
Content creator
Remarks
The Honorable Gary Peters
United States Senator, Michigan
Remarks
Kenneth Stribling
Retired Teamster
7 p.m.
Roll Call
Remarks
Minnesota Delegation
Remarks
California Delegation
8 p.m.
Host Introduction
Ana Navarro
Remarks
The Honorable Chuck Schumer
United States Senate Majority Leader
Remarks
The Honorable Bernie Sanders
United States Senator, Vermont
Remarks
The Honorable JB Pritzker
Governor of Illinois
Remarks
Ken Chenault
American business executive
Remarks
The Honorable Michelle Lujan Grisham
Governor of New Mexico
9 p.m.
Keynote Remarks
Angela Alsobrooks
Democratic Nominee for the U.S. Senate, Maryland; Long-time mentee of the Vice President
Remarks
The Honorable John Giles
Mayor of Mesa, Arizona
Remarks
The Honorable Tammy Duckworth
United States Senator, Illinois
Remarks
Douglas Emhoff
Second Gentleman of the United States
Remarks
Michelle Obama
Former First Lady of the United States
10 p.m.
Remarks
Barack Obama
44th President of the United States
Benediction
Bishop Samuel L. Green, Sr.
African Methodist Episcopal Church, 7th Episcopal District
His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America
3:30 p.m. - Pritzker interview
9:20 a.m. - Chicago Abortion Fund director
Chicago Abortion Fund Executive Director Megan Jeyifo focused on the steady ongoing rollback of reproductive rights, even preceding the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
“Even under Roe, states were stripping away access in the South and Midwest, people were flooding into Illinois even then and Illinois was taking action,” she said. The state in recent years has enshrined protections for abortions in state law and taken several other steps to protect abortion access.
Jeyifo said Republicans and anti-abortion advocates have “hijacked” the language surrounding the procedure.
“Antis have weaponized shame and fear while we hold on to the truth: Abortion is normal. It is essential, it is healthcare, and it is not up for debate,” she said.
9:10 a.m. - Education secretary keeps emphasis on Project 2025
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona speaks to the Illinois delegation Tuesday morning.
Guest speaker U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona focused partially on “Project 2025” – a policy blueprint authored by the conservative Heritage Foundation and former staffers for President Donald Trump. Democrats are reading a “chapter” of Project 2025 each day at the convention, amplifying the conservative framework for weakening several functions of the federal government.
“There's a damn playbook to destroy public institutions,” he said. “That stuff used to be done in the shade in the past. Now they're doing it in the sunlight. There is a playbook that will ruin a foundation of our country.”
Publicly, Trump has called Project 2025 “extreme” and tried to distance himself from the plan despite the prevalence of former staffers in its construction.
9 a.m. - Stratton calls Illinois an 'oasis for reproductive freedom'
Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton also focused on reproductive rights while addressing the delegation on Tuesday.
"I'm here as a woman, a Black woman, a mother of four daughters who I thought would have more rights than I did, not fewer," she said. "And though I am so incredibly proud of the work that we are doing to ensure Illinois' place as an oasis for reproductive freedom, I'm devastated still to this day that Donald Trump's extremist Supreme Court found a way to relegate us to second class citizens, but look at how that backwards thinking has fueled change."
9 a.m. - Conroy talks flipping DuPage County
8:45 a.m. - Frerichs talks reproductive rights
Treasure Michael Frerichs said his speech for Tuesday morning changed after last night's programming.
"Donald Trump, after this last election, went and sued various election authorities lied about what happened and led an insurrection on our capitol. You know, another way to describe that would be, a litigious loser, led his lackeys and lemmings in legal lawsuits and ultimately, lastly, lawlessness,” he said – referencing U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Monday night DNC speech that employed alliteration.
He then shifted to reproductive rights, saying he was inspired by last night’s speakers. He noted he and his wife relied on in vitro fertilization to conceive his twin sons.
His previous wife, he said, was pregnant in Champaign and told that their child was growing without a brain. The two hospitals in Champaign wouldn’t offer an abortion, so the couple went to Planned Parenthood
“My wife knew her child, our child, could not survive outside the womb, but they would force her to carry to term for nine months, dealing with all the risks of pregnancy, dealing with the pain of knowing I'm going through all of this, and it will be to bear a stillborn child, or one that dies soon afterwards,” he said. “That is cruel, and that's what the Republicans are offering.”
8:30 a.m. - Harmon says 'boring old white guys' have hope
Senate President Don Harmon, who last week urged attendees at the Illinois State Fair Democrat Day to "embrace the boring of governance," joked that while he'd prepared "one of my trademark fiery political stemwinders," House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch "delivered my remarks word for word" at Monday's breakfast.
Harmon focused on vice president candidate Tim Walz's "Midwest dad" persona.
"Governor Walz gives boring old white guys everywhere a chance to redeem ourselves and to add some value to the ticket, because frankly, we haven't been carrying our weight lately," he said.
8:20 a.m. - Labor secretary addresses the delegation
Acting U.S. Dept. of Labor Secretary Julie Su was a guest speaker at the Illinois breakfast Tuesday.
She said following the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, there were more incidents of anti-Asian hate, crimes and violence in one year than the entire previous 10 years combined. She said that correlated with Trump's categorization of the pandemic as the "kung-flu."
"So leadership matters, right, decency matters, and somebody who is good, who cares about people who knows that their words have consequences, and who knows that their decisions, when you are given the responsibility and power of leadership to do good things with it matters," she said.
8 a.m. - Speakers for Illinois' breakfast
The lineup of speakers for this morning's Illinois delegation breakfast includes: Illinois Pipe Trades Association Jim Coyne; Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton; Senate President Don Harmon; Treasurer Mike Frerichs; The Honorable Julie Su; DuPage County Board Chair Deb Conroy; Rep. Kelly Cassidy; Chicago Abortion Fund Executive Director Megan Jeyifo; U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona; Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership Training Academy President Terrie Pickerill.
Yesterday's breakfast had multiple surprise guests, so check back for more from the breakfast.
DNC DAY 1
10:30 p.m. - Biden takes the stage
9 p.m. - Hillary Clinton: 'We have him on the run now'
Hillary Clinton, who was born in Chicago, took the stage to raucous applause Monday night. She mentioned former President Donald Trump's 34 felony convictions and for a brief period, chants of "lock him up" filled the United Center.
Clinton said she and others put "cracks in the glass ceiling," and on the other side of it is Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office. Trump, she said, is "on the run."
7:57 p.m. - Tents down, many officers disperse
The tents that sparked the response have been taken down and the police in riot gear have migrated to the perimeter of the scene and begun removing their equipment. While protestors remain, they are largely calm. At least 60 officers remain in the park, with others scattered around the park's perimeter.
7:30 p.m. - Protestors erect tents in Union Park
In the photos above, protestors assemble a tent in Union Park as police reposition outside the convention area. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Outside of the convention area, in nearby Union Park, dozens of police in riot gear and hundreds of other officers are standing at attention.
The police are responding to a group of protestors who erected tents in the park.
Union Park hosted the rally before today's "March on the DNC" organized by a coalition of pro-Palestinian activist groups.
That larger group marched to a park adjacent to the convention's security perimeter. After several marchers knocked over a section of fencing, the larger group dispersed and many headed back to Union Park.
The march's permit ended at 6. A co-chair of the group, Kobi Guillory, said the current situation was not part of the plan for today's event, calling the event that they had planned "family friendly."
7 p.m. - Biden to speak tonight
President Joe Biden is slated to speak during tonight's evening DNC programming. Members of Congress from Illinois, including Rep. Lauren Underwood and U.S. Sen Dick Durbin, were among those to speak on a night with a heavy focus on organized labor.
4:30 p.m. - Monday evening schedule
5:15 p.m.
Call to Order
Minyon Moore
Chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention Committee
The Honorable Jaime Harrison
Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Invocation
Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich
Archdiocese of Chicago
Land Acknowledgment
Zach Pahmahmie
Tribal Council Vice-Chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
Lorrie Melchior
Tribal Council Secretary of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
Presentation of Colors
Illinois State Police Honor Guard
Pledge of Allegiance
William Harrison, Age 9
Charles Harrison, Age 5
National Anthem
Soul Children of Chicago
Remarks and Video Introduction
The Honorable Brandon Johnson
Mayor of Chicago, Illinois
Presentation of the Convention Agenda
The Honorable Jaime Harrison
Chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Joined by Vice Chairs The Honorable Keisha Lance Bottoms, Ken Martin, and Henry R. Muñoz III, Treasurer Virginia McGregor, and Finance Chair Chris Korge.
Credentials Committee Report
The Honorable Marcia L. Fudge
Committee Co-Chair
James Roosevelt, Jr.
Committee Co-Chair
Rules Committee Report
Bishop Leah D. Daughtry
Committee Co-Chair
Platform Committee Report
The Honorable Mitch Landrieu
Committee Co-Chair
The Honorable Regina Romero
Committee Co-Chair
Confirmatory and Ceremonial Vote for the Vice Presidential Nominee
Minyon Moore
Chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention Committee
6 p.m.
Co-chaired by The Honorable Peggy Flanagan, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Welcome Remarks
The Honorable Peggy Flanagan
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
Welcome Remarks
The Honorable Jaime Harrison
Chair of the Democratic National Committee
Remarks
The Honorable Maxine Waters
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, California
Joint Remarks
Derrick Johnson
President & CEO of the NAACP
Melanie L. Campbell
President & CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation
Honoring
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Civil rights leader
Accompanied by The Honorable Jonathan Jackson and Yusef D. Jackson
Remarks
The Honorable Lauren Underwood
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Illinois
Video
Rich Logis
Former Donald Trump voter
Remarks
The Honorable Robert Garcia
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, California
Remarks
Brian Wallach and Sandra Abrevaya
Health care advocates and founders of I Am ALS
Remarks
The Honorable Dick Durbin
United States Senator, Illinois
Remarks from Arizona
Dutch Martinez and Ryan Ahern
The United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA)
Remarks
The Honorable Joyce Beatty
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio
Joint Remarks
Lee Saunders, President of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME)
April Verrett, President of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
Brent Booker, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LiUNA)
Kenneth W. Cooper, International President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW)
Claude Cummings Jr., President of the Communications Workers of America (CWA)
Elizabeth H. Shuler, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO)
Remarks
The Honorable Karen Bass
Mayor of Los Angeles, California
Performance
Mickey Guyton
American musical artist
Joint Remarks on “Investing in the Future”
The Honorable Ambassador Eleni Kounalakis, Lieutenant Governor of California
The Honorable Austin A. Davis, Lieutenant Governor of Texas
The Honorable Sara Rodriguez, MSN, MPH, RN, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
The Honorable Lina Hidalgo, County Judge of Harris County, Texas
7 p.m.
Remarks: “Project 2025—Chapter One: Introduction”
The Honorable Mallory McMorrow
Michigan State Senator
Remarks
The Honorable Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Florida
Remarks
The Honorable Laphonza Butler
United States Senator, California
Remarks
Linda Haskins
Senior from New Hampshire
Remarks
Lieutenant Jeremy Warmkessel
President of Local 302 IAFF Allentown Firefighters, Pennsylvania
Remarks
Maria-Isabel Ballivian
Executive Director of the Annandale Christian Community for Action Childhood Development Center, Virginia
Remarks
Deja Foxx
Reproductive rights activist and content creator
Performance
Jason Isbell
American singer and songwriter
Remarks
The Honorable Gina M. Raimondo
Remarks
The Honorable Kathy Hochul
Governor of New York
Remarks
Rochelle Adjei-Abasa
Regional Organizing Director for Delaware County, Pennsylvania
8 p.m.
Hosted by Tony Goldwyn, American actor and singer
Remarks
Steve Kerr
Team USA Men’s Basketball coach and Golden State Warriors coach
Remarks
Shawn Fain
President of the United Automobile Workers
Remarks
The Honorable Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York
Remarks
Stacey Johnson-Batiste and Doris Johnson
Childhood friends of Kamala Harris
Remarks
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Former United States Secretary of State
Remarks
The Honorable James E. Clyburn
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, South Carolina
Remarks
The Honorable Jamie Raskin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Maryland
Remarks
The Honorable Jasmine Crockett
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Texas
Remarks
The Honorable Grace Meng
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New York
9 p.m.
Joint Remarks
Amanda and Josh Zurawski, Texas
Kaitlyn Joshua, Louisiana
Hadley Duvall, Kentucky
Remarks
The Honorable Andy Beshear
Governor of Kentucky
Remarks
The Honorable Reverend Raphael G. Warnock
United States Senator, Georgia
Remarks
The Honorable Chris Coons
United States Senator, Delaware
Remarks
Dr. Jill Biden
First Lady of the United States
Performance
James Taylor
American singer and songwriter
Introduction
Ashley Biden
Remarks
The Honorable Joe Biden
President of the United States
Benediction
Rabbi Michael S. Beals
Temple Beth El of Newark, Delaware
Pastor Cindy Rudolph
African Methodist Episcopal Church of Oak Grove, Delaware
Gavel Out
The Honorable Peggy Flanagan
Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota
3:45 p.m. - Recapping the morning breakfast ahead of evening programming
2:30 p.m. - Line forming outside United Center
People are waiting to enter the United Center, which will be home to the evening program. Tonight's headline speaker is President Joe Biden.
11 a.m. - Pctures from the Illinois delegation breakfast
Gov. JB Pritzker opens the Illinois delegation's Monday breakfast at the Democratic National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
Illinois Democratic Party Chair Lisa Hernandez hugs U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, a convention co-chair and the Illinois delegation's keynote speaker on Monday. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock)
Gwen Walz, wife of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, made a surprise appearance at the Illinois delegation's Monday breakfast at the Democratic National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
9:30 a.m. - Democratic leaders speak to media
Democrats took some time to appreciate President Joe Biden's decision to drop from the race.
"What Joe Biden has done is what George Washington did, stepped away from the halls of power for the good of the nation," U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth said.
She also noted she'd like to see Gov. JB Pritzker run for a third term as governor.
House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch echoed the sentiment: "I've had an opportunity to kind of lobby his wife a few times and say, 'Hey, I'd love for him to go for a third term.' And I think I got a smile and a wink and okay that he could do that. And so I'm certainly hoping and that he continues to be our governor."
Earlier in the breakfast the governor noted he'd be the longest-serving Democratic governor in Illinois history by serving out his full second term.
“So I'm not suggesting that I want to try to beat Jim Thompson's 14-year record,” he said. “My wife's not here, and I don't want anybody talking to her about this, but she is my term limit. So if all of you want to talk to her and convince her one way or another, by the way, you're welcome to do that.”
Pritzker was among the short list of candidates in the running to be Kamala Harris' vice presidential candidate prior to her choosing Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. He's still rumored to be a choice for a cabinet post should Harris win.
9:15 a.m. - Keynote speaker Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey
Sen. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, spoke about the historic importance of Kamala Harris’ candidacy. He recounted a time when he, Sen. Raphael Warnock and Harris spoke on the Senate floor amid a historic vote for Ketanji Brown Jackson to be appointed to the Supreme Court.
Warnock was elected to the Senate in 2021, providing the essential swing vote for Jackson’s approval.
“Ketanji Brown Jackson didn't get on the Supreme Court just because she was the most qualified for the job. She didn't get on the Supreme Court just because she's an extraordinary jurist, no. We put her on the Supreme Court when we elected Joe Biden and a Democratic senator.”
Booker told a story about Harris telling him and Warnock to write a letter commemorating the historic first. And he asked attendees what letter they will be writing with their actions in the 80 days leading up to the election.
“Did you stand up for democracy? Did you work for a woman's right to choose? Did you fight to protect Social Security?” he said. “That's the letter you write, and you write that letter in how you organize, you write that letter in how many phone calls you make, how many doors you knock on.”
He added: "We need to write a letter because all of us in this room, we're benefiting from letters written by generations gone by all of us in this room drink deeply from wells of freedom and liberty that we didn't dig."
9 a.m. - Monday's breakfast emphasizes organized labor
Terry O’Sullivan, the former general president of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, gave a fiery speech, saying of former President Donald Trump: “We not only have to win, we have to kick his ass all the way back to Mar-a-Lago, put a fork in him and end Donald Trump's presence in our country, in our world.”
“I don't think our democracy, I don't think our country, and I sure as hell know that working men and women, middle class families cannot afford for this mope to get back in there for four years,” he said.
He was one of several labor leaders to speak at the morning breakfast that was sponsored by organized labor.
Dan Montgomery, president and COO of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, called President Joe Biden "the greatest labor president in the history of this country." He warned of plans for education outlined in Project 2025, including dissolving the federal Dept of Education.
"It's ending Title I, the most important educational program in the history of this country. It's ending funding for special education in this country. That's the tip of the iceberg. That's what we're up against," he said.
8 a.m. - Pritzker kicks off Illinois delegation's breakfast
Slated speakers for the breakfast include: Steve Powell; Gov. JB Pritzker; Sen. Tammy Duckworth; Rep. Eric Sorensen; Christy George; Speaker Chris Welch; Terry O'Sullivan; Chair Lisa Hernandez; Sen. Cory Booker; Dan Montgomery; Jackie Gomez.
But the Illinois delegation also had a surprise guest:
8 a.m. - Day 1 begins following Sunday protests
Pro-Palestinian protestors march in downtown Chicago on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Andrew Adams)
While the DNC begins today, protests began last night with a march down Chicago’s famous Michigan Avenue. Sunday’s march was organized by several organizations representing reproductive rights advocates, the LGBTQ community and – like many large-scale demonstrations planned for this week – pro-Palestinian advocates.
The crowd of thousands remained peaceful as it marched from the Chicago River to the south end of Grant Park.
Marchers demanded politicians protect abortion access and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in maternal and child health among other things. The group’s online manifesto also argues that “Palestinian liberation is reproductive justice.”
Counter protests were minimal, with three anti-abortion protestors marching alongside the main group for much of the evening.
At one point, tensions and voices rose among dozens of protestors and police a block away from the Hilton Chicago – the site of a violent brawl between Chicago police and anti-war protests during the 1968 DNC.
Protestors chanted “the whole world is watching” as members of the media came over to record the interaction, echoing the phrase made famous at the site 56 years ago.
That situation resolved peacefully, but protests are planned throughout the week. A march later today near the United Center today is expected to draw the large crowds.
News Team
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit news service operated by the Illinois Press Foundation that provides coverage of state government to newspapers, broadcast outlets and other media throughout Illinois.
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