Chicago DNC 2024 security fences coming down, streets reopening as officials celebrate success

Protesters from around the country are starting to arrive in Chicago on Saturday ahead of the Democratic National Convention.

An advocacy group for the homeless, known as the Poor People's Army, is marching from the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee to the DNC in Chicago to make their voices heard.

"We've been marching for 14 days to come to Chicago, because we feel like there's a moral responsibility," said organizer Cheri Honkala.

The Media Welcome Party, put on by the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, welcomed 8,000 to 10,000 journalists for a Saturday night bash at Navy Pier.

It was history repeating itself, because it is the exact location where the Media Welcome Party was held during the DNC of 1996 here in Chicago.

The Media Welcome Party, put on by the Democratic National Convention Host Committee, is welcoming 8,000 to 10,000 journalists.

Reporters from not only across the nation, but across the world, gathered inside the Aon Ballroom on Saturday night to get a taste of what everything Chicago has to offer, from the food to the music.

On the eve of the DNC, the who's who of the Democratic Party in Illinois gathered for a final luncheon near McCormick Place, focusing their efforts on launching Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to victory.

"I've got to ask you, are you ready for the fight? Are you ready for the fight?" said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. "So that in about 81 days, we'll all get to say the two words that we've been waiting 248 years to say in this country, 'Madame president!'"

DNC kickoff events are being held Saturday as protesters from across the country start to arrive in Chicago.

The first of two permitted demonstrations will happen on Sunday afternoon in the Loop.

The permitted protest will take demonstrators from Michigan to the Logan Statue by East 9th Street into Grant Park. The protest is called the March for Bodies Outside Unjust Laws.

The protest will begin near Michigan and Wacker and is set to begin at 5 p.m. on Monday.

READ MORE | First permitted protest to begin in the Loop on eve of Democratic Convention