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Chicago will host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and one of the city's biggest cheerleaders on the national stage is excited for the event to come to the Midwest.

Former President Barack Obama, who worked as a community organizer and served in both the Illinois and U.S. Senate before being elected to the Oval Office in 2008, expressed his excitement about the news in a social media post Tuesday.

Theres no place like Chicago, the former president said in a social media post. Michelle and I are thrilled to have the Democratic National Convention return to our hometown next year.

Obama is of course no stranger to the bright lights of the convention stage. He leapt onto the national scene with his keynote address at the 2004 event in Boston, and accepted the party's presidential nomination at a packed football stadium in Denver during the 2008 convention.

The former president has also made plenty of noteworthy speeches in Chicago itself, including his victory address after the 2008 election in Grant Park and his farewell address at McCormick Place in 2017.

A spokesperson for Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker told NBC 5 the city has been selected for the 2024 edition of the convention, topping bids from Atlanta and New York.

The Democratic National Committee announced the news in a release Tuesday morning, saying the Midwest continued to be a "critical Democratic stronghold."

Chicago is a great choice to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, President Joe Biden said in a statement. Democrats will gather to showcase our historic progress including building an economy from the middle out and bottom up, not from the top down. From repairing our roads and bridges, to unleashing a manufacturing boom, and creating over 12.5 million new good-paying jobs, weve already delivered so much for hard working Americans now its time to finish the job.

The convention is scheduled to take place Aug. 19-22, 2024, at the United Center.

Last year, officials announced a bid to bring the convention to Chicago. The video announcement was accompanied by endorsements from top Illinois Democrats, including Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago will welcome people from across the nation to an unforgettable event highlighting our partys vision for lifting up working families and those who too often have been left out and left behind, Pritzker said in a statement.Our great global city and its diverse communities, unparalleled hospitality, and world renowned venues shows off the best of America and its people represent the heart of our country.

Lightfoot said the convention will create "once-in-a-generation opportunities for job creation and business growth here in our city." Meanwhile, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, who will be in office at the time of the event, said he looks forward to working with the DNC "to facilitate a spectacular convention that showcases Chicago's diverse culture, our beautiful lakefront, our renowned hospitality sector, and our best asset: our amazing people."

Illinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth said Chicago's "union labor advantage, hotel capacity and the city's location played key roles in its selection over other cities.

Were right in the middle of the battleground states," she told NBC 5 shortly after the announcement was made.

Republicans last year chose Milwaukee in swing state Wisconsin for their 2024 national convention.

The DNC also noted the city will "showcase President Bidens economic agenda that is rebuilding our roads and bridges, unleashing a manufacturing boom, and creating good-paying middle-class jobs."

Chicago last hosted the convention in 1996 when former President Bill Clinton accepted the party's nomination for a second term in office.

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Former President Obama Reacts to News Chicago Will Host 2024 Democratic National Convention - NBC Chicago

Hofstra University will host The Barack Obama Presidency: Hope and Change, a three-day conference from April 19-21. The event marks the universitys 13th presidential conference and will include scholars, journalists and government officials.

Those officials include White House Chief of Staff Valerie Jarrett, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, and White House Director of Legislative Affairs Philip Schiliro. They will join other subject experts who will explore the administration, policy making, and legacy of Barack Obama, according to Hofstra.

The conference is presented at the Hofstra Cultural Center, the Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency and the Peter S. Kalikow School of Government, Public Policy and International Affairs, in conjunction with the Barack Obama Presidential Library, National Archives and Records Administration and the Obama Foundation. Political scholar and journalist Melissa Harris-Perry will be featured in a keynote dialogue on Wednesday.

Hofstra University takes great honor in this tradition of hosting presidential conferences, Hofstra President Susan Poser said in a statement.

Since the first one in 1982, the conferences have provided Hofstra students, faculty, and the general public opportunities to meet and learn directly from those who have had a hand in shaping our nations history, Poser said.

Hofstras 13th presidential conference will address key topics about leadership, politics, and policy making in the Barack Obama presidency, Conference Director and Political Science Professor Meena Bose said in a statement. It will include scholarly paper presentations and forum discussions on such diverse topics as domestic and foreign policy, health care, the economy and trade, media coverage, the First Lady, education policy, and communications strategy.

Bringing together public officials, journalists, and scholars to discuss President Obamas consequential leadership and legacy in American politics presents a unique and enduring contribution to presidency studies, Bose added. We are delighted that students will have the opportunity to participate in these richly informative conference discussions.

Hofstra has hosted conferences on the administrations of every U.S. president since the universitys founding in 1935, beginning with Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In addition, the university has hosted three consecutive presidential debates, in 2008, 2012 and 2016. A total of presidents have visited the campus, according to Hofstra.

The full schedule of the upcoming conference is available here. To register, click here.

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Hofstra to host conference on Obama presidency - Long Island Business News

WASHINGTON Former President Barack Obama phoned Chicago Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson on Saturday afternoon and gave him some advice about parenting.

Johnson, 47, and his wife Stacie are the parents of sons Owen, 15; Ethan, 10, and daughter Braedyn, 8.

Obama, whose political career was launched from Chicagos South Side, phoned Johnson, who lives in Austin on the West Side, and the two shared an extended conversation, a source close to Johnson told the Sun-Times.

Obama spent a decent amount of time giving advice about raising a family with young kids while holding executive office, I was told.

In addition, Obama made a general offer of assistance and support as Johnson takes office.

Johnson, a paid staffer for the Chicago Teachers Union and a Cook County Board member, will be sworn-in as Chicagos 57th mayor on May 15 after beating Paul Vallas in Tuesdays run-off election.

Obama and former first lady Michelle have written and spoken often about some of the tough times they went through while juggling their careers and raising their two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Michelle Obama has commented on the stress Obamas political career put on their marriage.

While the Obama daughters now are young adults, they were toddlers when Obama was a state senator, commuting between their condo in Hyde Park and Springfield.

One of the advantages of being president, Obama would often say, was living above the office thats the White House and being able to make it home for dinner. Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, when he was Obamas first chief of staff, often joked that he worked in a family friendly White House that is, family friendly for the Obama family.

The Sun-Times was also told that Vice President Kamala Harris called Johnson on Wednesday. Later in the day, President Joe Biden phoned Johnson, also to congratulate him.

In the call with the president, Johnson pitched Chicago to be the host of the 2024 Democratic convention, where Biden will be nominated for a second term.

Chicagos main rival for the convention is Atlanta with New York also bidding for the event.

The host city convention decision is up to Biden.I was told a Democratic National Committee Technical Advisory Group, which advises Biden and his team on logistics issues, putChicagosbid on top. Biden has many factors including politics to consider.

Chicagos push for the convention is easier with Vallas out of the picture. It would not have been a plus to have as mayor someone who played footsie with Republicans and who had been critical of the president.

One of Chicagos major building projects is the Obama Presidential Center, under construction in Jackson Park, with City Hall involved in many aspects of the development in and around the complex.

An Obama spokesman confirmed that the Obamas voted in Chicagos Feb. 28 first round municipal elections and the Tuesday runoff.

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Obama called Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson and gave him this advice - Chicago Sun-Times

News

By Victor Nava

April 12, 2023 | 12:53am

Jon Lovett, an ex-speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, called on Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign on Tuesday amid her lengthy health-related absence from the Senate.

Feinstein (D-Calif.), the oldest serving member of the Senate, revealed on March 2 that she was hospitalized for shingles treatment after being diagnosed with an infection in February.

She was released from the San Francisco hospital on March 7, but the 89-year-old has yet to return to the Senate.

Lovett, who is also the co-founder of progressive media company Crooked Media, argued that Feinsteins absence from the upper chamber is keeping the Senate from confirming judges and that more people should be demanding her immediate resignation.

Theres been a lot of reporting about Dianne Feinstein no longer being fit to serve in the Senate representing the biggest state in this country. She is currently out for shingles. That is sad. That is obviously not her fault, Lovett said on his podcast, Pod Save America, according to The Hill.

But because she is not in the Judiciary Committee, [Democratic Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin] has said that it has made it basically impossible to move a lot of these lower court nominees to the Senate for a vote, which means that Dianne Feinstein, who should not be in the Senate, is now preventing us from being able to confirm judges, Lovett said.

I think what the people around Dianne Feinstein are doing, allowing, being part of this farce of having a lack of a senator in such an important job is really wrong, he continued. And Dianne Feinstein should no longer be in the Senate. She has to resign and more people should be calling on her to resign.

Feinstein said after her release from the hospital that she is recovering at home, where she continues to receive treatment for shingles and that she looks forward to returning to the Senate as soon as possible.

For the last several weeks, Democrats in the Senate have been limited to only 49 members, equaling Republicans, due to the absence of Feinstein and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who was hospitalized for treatment for clinical depression.

Durbin told The Hill earlier this month that Democrats in the Senate hope to be back to full strength after Easter.

In February, Feinstein posted a tweet announcing that she will not seek a sixth term in office in 2024.

When asked by reporters that day about the announcement, the California Democrat appeared confused that it was made.

You put out the statement? asked an incredulous-sounding Feinstein, before telling the press: I didnt know they put it out.

It is what it is, the senator added. I think the time has come. I have a whole other year. I have things that are underway. I expect to achieve them, I hope, and so well see.

Unnamed Senate colleagues and former staffers had claimed in April last year that Feinsteins memory was rapidly deteriorating and that her staff did much of her work.

Reps. Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) have both announced that they will run for her vacant seat in 2024.

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Former Obama speechwriter calls on Sen. Dianne Feinstein to resign immediately - New York Post

CLAIM: Former President Barack Obama is relocating to Kenya.

APS ASSESSMENT: False. The claim originated from an April Fools Day article that was originally published by The Standard, a major newspaper in Kenya. Obama has made no such announcement.

THE FACTS: Rumors that Obama is moving to the east African country began spreading on social media after users shared the satirical April 1 article as real. Posts making this claim had collectively received tens of thousands of likes and shares as of Thursday.

One Instagram post included a screenshot of the headline on a similar satirical post, but not the final line of the article reading Happy April Fools Day!

On Twitter, others shared only the claim, without linking to the satirical posts. Several of the posts referenced the false birther claim that Obama was born in Kenya and not the U.S., alleging the supposed news was proof that it was true.

Some went a step further to claim that Obamas supposed move to Kenya was spurred by the trial of Prakazrel Pras Michel a founding member of 1990s hip-hop group The Fugees who is accused of funneling money from a fugitive Malaysian financer through straw donors to Obamas 2012 reelection campaign. Movie star Leonardo DiCaprio testified as part of the trial on Monday.

But the claim that Obama is moving to Kenya is baseless. It originated from a satirical article originally published by The Standard on April Fools Day this year. The article alleges that Obama is resettling in Kenya for at least a year as Special Envoy for US Diplomacy, but then ends by saying: Disclaimer: This was an April Fools Day Story.

Neither Obama, the Biden administration nor Congress has made any announcement to this effect.

___

This is part of APs effort to address widely shared misinformation, including work with outside companies and organizations to add factual context to misleading content that is circulating online. Learn more about fact-checking at AP.

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Claim about Obama moving to Kenya stems from satirical article - The Associated Press