Want to speed up a road or transit project? Just host a political convention

CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago officials had planned to open a new elevated train station near the United Center more than four years ago, but numerous delays left some neighbors wondering if it ever would happen.

Then the Democratic National Committee picked the city to host its convention.

Construction crews scrambled to finish work this month on the Damen green line L stop before delegates arrived, with most of the high-profile events set for the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks less than a half-mile away. Featuring such flourishes as wooden ceilings, a colorful mural and a glass pedestrian walkway overlooking the Chicago skyline, the new station fills a 1.5-mile (2.4-kilometer) service gap created when a previous stop there closed in 1948.

“It was on target to get done, but the DNC made it quicker,” said Alderman Walter Burnett, who spent years lobbying for the project for his West Side City Council ward. “That helped a lot, and I loved it.”

Cities might factor the ability to host major events when prioritizing infrastructure upgrades, but rarely do they embark on big-ticket projects just to land a political convention or woo its delegates. Speeding up construction, however, is another matter.

Victor Matheson, economics professor at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, co-authored a study that concluded the economic expectations for hosting national political conventions are often “unrealistically large.” Still, he said, there’s “a lot of political will” to accelerate already planned upgrades to impress out-of-town guests — even for an event that lasts just four days.

“The real question with these sort of things is, if this is such a good project, why wasn’t the political will there before?” Matheson said.

After the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, officials there concluded the event directly generated $214 million for the local economy. But more than half the amount cited was for telecommunications upgrades the city would have eventually needed anyway, Matheson said.

Milwaukee hosted last month’s Republican National Convention and the pandemic-altered 2020 Democratic National Convention without any significant public infrastructure investments directly tied to them, city engineer Kevin Muhs said. However, it did adjust the timing of some road projects earlier this year in anticipation of a citywide construction halt during the RNC.

One of Milwaukee's most politically divisive infrastructure projects is the streetcar known as The Hop, which expanded service to the lakefront earlier this year over objections from some Republicans who argued it was a waste of money. But part of the city’s agreement with the Republican National Committee to host the convention stipulated that the service would be open for delegates to use, Muhs said.

Landing the 2016 Republican National Convention was a major reason Cleveland accelerated construction on overdue airport upgrades, a large downtown park called Public Square and a hotel attached to the convention center, said David Gilbert, who served as CEO of the local host committee.

“It was a city that had gone through decades of hard times and was coming back,” Gilbert said, citing the nearly 15,000 members of the national media that descended on Cleveland for the RNC. “It was a great way to show we were ready to host this sort of thing.”

Many of the upgrades were already in place a month earlier when the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Golden State Warriors for their first NBA championship, with home games in the same arena. And the spruced-up downtown was back on the national stage once again that fall with the World Series, which the Cleveland Indians lost in Game 7 to the visiting Chicago Cubs.

During the news conference and ribbon-cutting at the new Chicago L station, officials made only passing references to the Democratic National Convention and instead focused on the transit help for underserved residents on the South and West sides.

Still, Mayor Brandon Johnson concluded his remarks with a nod to the convention, proclaiming that Chicago was “ready to host the world ... so this station comes at a perfect time.”

Commuters Take Action, a group that advocates for more reliable transit options in Chicago, called it “a little sad that it took the hosting of the DNC instead of the everyday needs of Chicagoans to get this project across the finish line.” However, the group’s statement celebrated the station’s opening and encouraged visitors to use transit during the convention and push for more funding on a national level.

Some residents who took the train out of the Damen station on its first day wondered just how influential the convention was in moving up the grand opening.

“I feel like it shouldn’t be the main fuel for projects like this. It should be the communities and the people who live in them,” rider Angelica Arzuaga said. “But I guess it’s a win-win.”

A Chicago Transit Authority employee paints a post at the Ashland Ave. station Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention will convene Monday, August 19, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A Chicago Transit Authority employee paints a post at the Ashland Ave. station Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention will convene Monday, August 19, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A pedestrian and child walk past a Chicago Transit Authority employee as he makes repairs at the Ashland Ave. station Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention will convene Monday, August 19, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Chicago Transit Authority employees work on the platform at the Ashland Ave. station Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention will convene Monday, August 19, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Construction continues on the new Chicago Transit Authority's Damen Ave. Green Line station Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention will convene Monday, August 19, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Construction continues on the new Chicago Transit Authority's Damen Ave. Green Line station Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention will convene Monday, August 19, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A Chicago Transit Authority Green Line train passes the new Damen Ave. station Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, near the United Center where the Democratic National Convention will convene Monday, August 19, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A Chicago Transit Authority train pulls into the new Damen Ave. station just two blocks from the United Center Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, one week before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A Chicago Transit Authority train pulls into the new Damen Ave. station just two blocks from the United Center Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, one week before the start of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Max Verstappen of Red Bull will start from pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix after turning in the top time in qualifying on Saturday in his final attempt.

Lando Norris of McLaren will start alongside with teammate Oscar Piastri on the second row with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

Norris and Piastri have won the first two Formula 1 races of the season. Now Verstappen is set up in good shape to win his fourth straight race in Japan.

The qualifying session was stopped with 8:26 remaining by a small fire in the grass on the fringe of the track.

Officials have decided to burn the grass at the edge of track in preparation for Sunday’s race. Four small fires broke out in Friday and Saturday's practice sessions, the dry brush set aflame by sparks from passing cars.

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda, promoted to Red Bull last week from its second team, will start from the back of the grid after going out in the second of three qualifying sessions.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the third practice session for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the third practice session for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands prepares to drive during the third practice session for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands speaks before the third practice session for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the qualifying session for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama, Pool)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the qualifying session for the Japanese Formula One Grand Prix at the Suzuka Circuit in Suzuka, central Japan, Saturday, April 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)