CHICAGOBUSINESS.COM I FEBRUARY 26, 2024
Is the DNC a trial run for a Pritzker White House bid? Biden aside, no one has more riding on a successful event than the governor does
BOOTH HANSEN
By Leigh Giangreco
Architect’s visionary stadium aims to keep Bears in Chicago Honoring the city’s ‘make no little plans’ tradition, Larry Booth has sketched out a big-picture vision for what a stadium could look like within city limits | By Dennis Rodkin
L
ike a lot of people, Larry Booth has been miffed by all the talk of the Chicago Bears moving to Arlington Heights or Naperville or Waukegan or some other town. Unlike most of them, Booth is an architect who’s worked out a concept for a stadium that he believes would not only keep the team in Chicago but showcase the city’s history as a hub of architectural innovation. “Keep them in Chicago,” says Booth, the eminent architect who’s been practicing in the city since the 1960s, designing dozens of new buildings and renovations of old ones, as well as more in the suburbs and farther afield. As such, Booth is uniquely qualified to spitball a blue-sky vision See STADIUM on Page 26
Ringed in wood, the 80,000-seat stadium would greatly reduce the carbon footprint compared to concrete and steel construction.
When President Joe Biden walks onto the stage at the United Center this summer for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, it will mark the beginning of the last act for a veteran politician. For Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, the stage he helped set in Chicago could also serve as his own on-ramp to the White House. “This convention is a great platform for Gov. Pritzker,” said David Yepsen, former director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University. “This is a chance for the governor to look good, show his stuff, to be a good host, do a lot of schmoozing, and not just with delegates who are clear party influencers, but also big donors. So it's tailor-made for him to use it as a springboard.” In 2022, Pritzker served as the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s state convention, provoking speculation that he was mulling a White House bid. That chatter tempered as Biden affirmed he would run. Talk of a Pritzker presidential campaign bubbled up again last fall with the announcement of his new organization, Think Big America, which will contribute to efforts to expand abortion access in states
No one worked harder than the governor to bring the Democratic National Convention to Chicago. | BLOOMBERG
across the country. Still, Pritzker understands how to serve as the happy warrior for Biden even as theories about his political ambitions persist, according to U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston. “That’s something that J.B. will manage well,” said Schakowsky, who once competed with Pritzker for her House seat. “He knows what it is to be a surrogate. He has no intention of trying to outstrip the president of the United States.” A DNC spokesperson declined to comment for this story. The convention bodes well for Pritzker, who has already elevated his national profile with his work as a Biden campaign See PRITZKER on Page 24
CRAIN’S
No place like here An affordable big city with deep pools of talent, Chicago needs to regain its edge as a place to do business | PAGE 15 VOL. 47, NO. 8 l COPYRIGHT 2024 CRAIN COMMUNICATIONS INC. l ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
BARNES & NOBLE The bookstore giant is opening a new store in Wicker Park as well as three other surrounding locations. PAGE 3
CRAIN’S LIST Check out our ranking of the Chicago area’s 25 largest employers. PAGE 13