(Washington Free Beacon) 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 thefthas 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!
