The endorsement, announced Friday in a video showing Harris accepting a joint phone call from the former first couple, comes as Harris builds momentum as their party’s likely nominee after President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid and endorse his second-in-command against Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump.

The Democratic National Convention will close off wide swaths of the Near West Side around the United Center and downtown around McCormick Place, under a security plan law enforcement authorities released Thursday. “Chicago is ready,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said. “We were born ready.”

Vice President Kamala Harris is the only major Democrat to announce publicly that she's seeking the nomination, meaning she'll almost-certainly be approved in a single round of virtual balloting beginning Aug. 1 — some 18 days before the party's convention opens in Chicago.

Chief Judge Timothy Evans, who filed a pair of administrative orders this month, said his office has made “extensive preparations,” including plans to reopen a former court facility ahead of next month’s DNC following requests from the city of Chicago and the Chicago Police Department.

Illinois’ leading Democrats are following President Joe Biden’s lead in backing Vice President Kamala Harris following the president’s surprise announcement Sunday that he was ending his reelection bid. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is among them.

Democrats are set to hold their convention in Chicago on Aug. 19-22. What was supposed to be a coronation for Biden now becomes an open contest in which nearly 4,700 delegates will be responsible for picking a new standard-bearer to challenge Republican Donald Trump in the fall.

President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential election and will no longer seek a second term in office. The decision comes one month before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. 

If it appeared in a movie, sports game or meme, chances are it’s been made into a bobblehead. And if it’s a bobblehead, it’s likely exhibited on one of the dozens of wooden bookshelves inside the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.

Before the Republican National Convention draws to a close in Milwaukee, Chicago police officials are in town to learn more about the safety and security measures in place ahead of next month’s Democratic National Convention.

The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie is taking its mission on the road this summer, bringing the stories of survivors to life at the Republican and Democratic National Conventions through virtual reality headsets.

Even with conventions choreographed down to tiny details, the unexpected can still happen. Here’s a look at the floor fights, street battles and other memorable convention scenes that were uplifting, outlandish or just plain awkward.

Organizers for at least one Chicago fundraiser scheduled during the Democratic National Convention have decided to not to proceed with the mid-August event, a source with knowledge of the discussions told CNN.

Biden's efforts to shore up a deeply anxious Democratic Party came Monday as lawmakers returned to Washington confronting a choice: Decide whether to work to revive his campaign or try to edge out the party leader, a make-or-break time for his reelection and their own political futures.

The revised policy represents a “substantial improvement” over the original policy, according to a coalition of police reform groups that challenged the policy in federal court.

The Chicago Police Department held an open training session at McCormick Place, where police demonstrated for media the different measures and strategies the department is planning to deploy during the August convention.

“I am heartened by the progress CPD has made,” Inspector General Deborah Witzburg said. “I think Chicagoans should be heartened. I think there are persistent concerns. I think there is time to address them.”