For Johnson, Democratic National Convention will be a big test on the world stage

Mayor Brandon Johnson is coming off a challenging first year in office and appears to be a little more comfortable in the mayor’s big shoes.

But he now faces a major test on an unstable world stage that would knock the most seasoned chief executive off balance: hosting the Democratic National Convention.

The DNC — the Super Bowl of Democratic politics — is in Chicago for the first time in 28 years. It's a moment when everything seems uncertain, though Vice President Kamala Harris appears to have buttoned down the nomination after President Joe Biden’s exit.

Protest routes are still being negotiated with thousands of people likely to march. The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump has raised questions about how prepared the U.S. Secret Service will be for the invasion of VIPs.

Johnson did not seek the convention. He simply inherited it. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot were the driving forces behind winning the major event.

But it is Johnson who stands to lose the most if Chicago is not up to the challenge.

“We're going to have a safe, vibrant, exciting convention,” Johnson said. “It is my top priority to make sure that the people of Chicago who are going to work every day and preparing for the first week of school the following week, that all of those services will still be provided.”

New role for activist-turned-mayor

As then-Mayor Richard M. Daley prepared to welcome the world to Chicago for the 1996 Democratic National Convention, he said he felt like the “father of the bride.” Johnson demurred when asked if he views his role similarly, or hopes for a prime-time speaking slot to raise his national profile.

To deliver a well-run and secure convention, the rookie mayor will have to walk a political tightrope.

Not too long ago, he was on the picket lines with the demonstrators as a paid organizer for the Chicago Teachers Union, which bankrolled his campaign.

Now, he’s the boss of police officers who could be asked to take a firm stance with protesters if they break the law, or disrupt either the convention or daily life in the city.

Johnson acknowledged “there are some people that are concerned that I'm too friendly to the right to protest" — but may have amplified those concerns by saying: “I'm going to protect that right. … As a Black man, I've benefited from protest. In fact, we all have benefited from Black protests in particular.”

Already Democratic delegates across the nation have read troubling headlines about Chicago's July Fourth weekend, with more than 100 people shot and 21 people killed. National and local media have questioned the city’s ability to keep the neighborhoods and the convention safe simultaneously — all amid a shortage of police.

Quick to endorse Harris

Johnson’s delicate dance extends to the presidential race itself.

He was among the first Illinois Democrats to jump on the Harris bandwagon — in part, he said, because of what it could mean for his 10-year-old daughter.

“The look on her face — for her to be able to see a reflection of herself as someone who will lead this country and be the most powerful leader in the entire world — that's a big deal for little girls across America,” Johnson said.

The mayor has been openly critical of the Biden administration on the migrant crisis the president assigned Harris to handle.

He also cast the tie-breaking vote on a non-binding resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, a foreign policy crisis in which Biden has taken heat from progressives. And Johnson has faced pressure from some progressives who have argued the convention shouldn’t be held in Chicago at all.

“The mayor cannot be such a cheerleader for the First Amendment that he looks like he's on the side of protesters, most of whom will be peaceful, but not all of them will be,” Democratic political strategist Pete Giangreco said.

Johnson’s progressive credentials have already been questioned by protesters who have been forced to file federal lawsuits to gain access to permits while pushing for more direct access to the United Center.

“That's not the way that a progressive mayor should be behaving. This whole mass arrest policy, the security perimeter… call into question Mayor Johnson's real commitment to the First Amendment,” said Andy Thayer, member of Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws, which plans to march during the convention.

“Mayor Johnson has an opportunity, still, to change course on this, but he's going to have to cross the CPD in order to do so. And so far, he's shown a dramatic reluctance to do that on a whole range of issues,” Thayer said.

Will police learn from 2020 George Floyd protests?

Hatem Abudayyeh is the national chair for the U.S. Palestinian Community Network and helps lead a coalition of organizations set to protest. He credited Johnson with negotiating in “good faith” over protest routes.

“We would be saying and doing things very, very differently” if Lightfoot or Rahm Emanuel were mayor, Abudayyeh said. But he said “friends or no friends, an administration that we respect or not — if there’s mass violations of people’s rights [by police] at the DNC, then the city and the police will be a [political] target of ours.”

Johnson has a mixed record in handling the ongoing pro-Palestinian protests. The Chicago Police Department aggressively cleared out protesters at DePaul University and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, but ignored the University of Chicago’s request to do the same.

His law department is pursuing charges against dozens of protesters who blocked Interstate 90 to O’Hare International Airport, forcing air travelers to vacate cars, cabs and rideshares and walk with their suitcases to the terminal.

The convention comes as the City Council continues to approve settlements stemming from the police’s use of force during the 2020 protests in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. More than $6.8 million has been paid to protesters to date.

Inspector General Deborah Witzburg’s office wrote a scathing report accusing CPD of being "under-prepared and ill-equipped” to handle the 2020 protests. Four years later, some are wondering whether CPD has learned its lessons.

ACLU of Illinois spokesman Ed Yohnka said he’s concerned the Johnson administration may “mimic 2020 and close public transportation and raise the bridges” as Lightfoot did during the George Floyd demonstrations.

But Police Supt. Larry Snelling has vowed not to repeat the well-documented mistakes of 2020.

“We've had more protests here this year than I can remember since 2012, when we had the NATO event,” Snelling said. “Our officers have responded very well. We haven't had violent clashes with our protesters. We've had our dust-ups, but nothing that made national news.”

Former White House Chief of Staff and U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley helped his brother, then-Mayor Richard M. Daley, stage the 1996 convention, which was nearly flawless.

Bill Daley questioned how aggressive Chicago police officers will be.

“Since the George Floyd disturbances across the country, police officers are very hesitant about … putting themselves at risk — and their jobs and their families and their pensions — when they’re expected to be part of solving a political problem or social problem that’s going on in the streets of Chicago,” Bill Daley said.

Johnson’s Chief Operating Officer John Roberson, a former all-purpose troubleshooter for Richard M. Daley, has emphatically proclaimed Chicago “more prepared” to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention than it was in 1996.

“Good luck on that statement … It’s not just the preparation. It’s how you react when the proverbial stuff hits the fan,” Bill Daley said.

Transportation is another major challenge.

In 1996, dedicated bus lanes whisked delegates to and from the United Center. During the 2012 NATO conference, the little-known McCormick Place busway — dubbed the “Bat Cave” — was used to speed VIPs securely to the convention center.

This time, precious little has been communicated to the general public. Perhaps that's due to security concerns, but it's led Chicagoans to wonder how their routines will be affected.

Officials have said the CTA has a contract to provide up to 250 buses for the convention, even as it struggles to have enough drivers to meet its own regular schedules. Johnson has also raced to complete the $80 million Damen Green Line station, half a mile north of the United Center.

Police resources stretched thin

Ultimately, the real test will be whether Johnson can guarantee neighborhood safety with CPD stretched so thin during the convention.

Johnson has seemingly lucked out as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott slowed the busloads of migrants headed to Chicago. But at the Republican National Convention, Abbott vowed the buses to sanctuary cities would continue – without mentioning Chicago.

The mayor also invited criticism by clearing out one of Chicago’s largest homeless encampments in the shadows of the United Center. Shelter residents in a downtown hotel have said they were hastily pushed out to make room for the people living at the encampment — a claim Johnson has denied.

Roberson likened the pre-convention clean-up to a homeowner sprucing up the place before hosting a backyard barbecue.

“You cut the grass, don’t you? You plant flowers. ... You want your home to look nice. ... You want them to walk away feeling like, ‘When I went to Steve’s house, it was phenomenal,’” Roberson said. “That’s what we want people to do with the city.”