Friday, June 22, 2007

Old '96 DNC sign in downtown Chicago


In 1996, Chicago hosted the Democratic National Convention which renominated Bill Clinton as the party's nominee--and of course he defeated Republican Bob Dole in the general election that fall.

Hosting the convention was a big deal for the city. It served as atonement for the 1968 debacle that paved the way for a Republican victory that year.

Mayor Richard J. Daley and his cops were in a cranky mood that year. In 1996, a new Mayor Richard Daley made sure the Democrats felt welcome--and downtown many street signs had the logo, "An American Celebration, Chicago '96" slapped on them. True, the DNC is not specifically mentioned on the logos, but when those went up, everyone knew that the "celebration" was of course the Democratic National Convention.

Chicago of course has an excellent chance of hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics. The host city will be named in 2009, knowing how slowly government moves, if Chicago gets the games, the can this Madison Street signed get changed then?

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