As crews dismantled the fencing around the United Center, city officials hugged, shook hands and took credit for what - by most accounts - was a successful Democratic National Convention.
Derek Mayer, the U.S. Secret Service special agent in charge of DNC planning, paid Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Police Superintendent Larry Snelling a high compliment when he turned to them at a news conference on Friday morning.
"I have traveled the world, and I have lived all over the country; I have never seen anyone better than you," he said.
One of the big fears about this year’s convention was that it would somehow be a repeat of 1968, a Chicago DNC known more for its violence than its nominee. This time around, both the mayor and the superintendent vowed to make Chicago a model of constitutional policing. CPD spent more than a year training not only its officers but their supervisors as well.
The result: only 74 arrests over the course of the four-day convention. Four people were hospitalized with minor problems, including some involving medication, according to police. Several officers also received minor injuries, but the department said all of them refused treatment so that they could remain on the street.
“It just shows what a great job these officers did and how the training applied to that,” Snelling said.
Fewer protesters than expected also helped the situation, according to CPD officials.
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Prior to the convention, organizers estimated that as many as 25,000 from around the country would come to Chicago to voice their opposition to a number of causes, including the Israel-Hamas war. In reality, no more than an estimated 4,000 or less turned out on any given day, CPD said.
The department was tasked not only with keeping delegates and protesters safe, but also an entire city outside the two DNC venues: the United Center and the McCormick Place. It said crime citywide was down in every major category when compared to the same period one year ago.
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CPD released the following numbers:
- Shootings - Down 26%
- Homicides - Down 31%
- Robberies - Down 54%
- Carjackings - Down 35%
- Motor Vehicle Thefts - Down 47%
When it comes to the world stage that the DNC gave to Chicago, Johnson said he thinks it left a positive impression.
“I think its pretty clear, the world fell back in love with Chicago,” he said. A City, the superintendent said that is leaving the ghosts of 1968 behind, and forward looking to the future.
"So again, please, can we stop talking about 1968," he said, causing laughter.
