* Tribune…

Chicago’s top migrant official is walking back a prediction from city leaders last month that tens of thousands of migrants would arrive by bus ahead of next week’s Democratic National Convention, saying that there is no “credible intel” that the feared surge will occur.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s deputy mayor for immigration, Beatriz Ponce de León, told reporters in July the city was preparing for as many as 25,000 migrant arrivals tied to the DNC. But President Joe Biden’s June executive order limiting asylum-seekers’ arrivals at the U.S. border has sharply changed the city’s expectations, she said.

No migrant buses have come to Chicago since June 17, according to Brian Berg, spokesman for the city’s Department of Family and Support Services.

“We at this point do not have any credible intel that there will be a large surge in terms of buses coming from Texas,” Ponce de León told the Tribune Tuesday.

* NBC…

Republican National Convention delegates erupted in applause last month when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott doubled down on his commitment to send buses full of migrants to blue cities. […]

But the buses have not been rolling on a consistent basis for months because of a steep drop in the number of migrants apprehended at the southern border, according to officials and migrant shelter operators in Texas and in a half-dozen big cities across the U.S.

Roughly 117,000 migrants were stopped in May, down from a record 300,000 in December. In June, the number dropped even further — to about 84,000, the lowest monthly total since President Joe Biden took office in 2021.

“They now come much less frequently,” said Josh Goldfein, a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society of New York, “because they don’t have enough people to cross the border to fill up a bus.”

* Sun-Times…

Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson are among a slew of Illinois Democrats scheduled to speak at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next week.

Pritzker will speak in a prime time address Tuesday night, the same night former President Barack Obama will address the convention, according to two sources familiar with the plans. Johnson, Sen. Dick Durbin, Sen. Tammy Duckworth and U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood have also been confirmed as speakers.

President Joe Biden will address the convention Monday, along with former Secretary of State and presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. On Wednesday, former President Bill Clinton will address the convention before vice presidential nominee Tim Walz speaks and formally accepts the nomination. Democratic nominee Kamala Harris will close out the convention with a Thursday night address.

Pritzker, Duckworth and former Mayor Lori Lightfoot were instrumental in landing the convention in Chicago. But Johnson has also played an active role since taking office. Pritzker, who was a contender to be Harris’ running mate, told reporters last week that he planned to travel the country to help boost the Harris-Walz ticket ahead of the November election. And Johnson last week headlined an event in Detroit called “Black Men for Harris.”

* Click here for more information…

‼️🚌 Please make note of CTA Bus Reroutes around @McCormick_Place starting this Friday, August 16 until next Friday, August 23 for the DNC 🚌‼️ pic.twitter.com/4vvoOmeIn2

— Alderman Lamont J. Robinson (@LamontJRobinson) August 15, 2024

* WGN…

Members of the Coalition to March on the DNC said they are outraged over the City of Chicago’s approval for two days of marches during next week’s Democratic National Convention. […]

And organizers plan to speak out again Thursday after a letter from the city granted use of two parks for rallies with restrictions in place.

It reads in part quote “no stages, or platforms, portable restrooms or toilets, tents or canopies, or sound equipment may be installed by your organization.” […]

Coalition organizers feel the rules put in place make it impossible to share their messages.

* The Coalition’s emergency motion will be heard in federal court at 1:30 pm…

JUST IN: Groups planning to protest at the DNC in Chicago are crying foul after the city denied them permits to hold rallies in parks near the United Center, citing security concerns.
They’ve filed an emergency petition to a federal judge claiming it’s a 1st Amendment violation pic.twitter.com/jnbRz8oDnB

— Jason Meisner (@jmetr22b) August 15, 2024

* More…

* Tribune | Mayor Johnson ally raising money from Chicago business leaders for DNC events: A top ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson has been hitting up Chicago businesses to contribute to a dark money political organization that is hosting several events next week during the Democratic National Convention, including a luncheon and a showcase Soldier Field event. […] [Charles Smith, Johnson’s liaison to the business community,] wears multiple hats. Along with being Johnson’s point man with business leaders as vice chair of the city’s public-private economic development organization World Business Chicago, he is CEO of CS Insurance Strategies and chair of Business Leadership Council, an advocacy group designed to bolster Black business partnerships.

* Crain’s | The DNC party invite giving some Chicago C-suites heartburn: Insurance executive Charles Smith, whom Johnson tapped as vice chair of World Business Chicago, has been asking individuals and companies in recent weeks to contribute between $5,000 to $500,000 to GoChiLife, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, in an effort to host five events during the convention, kicking off with a welcome party at the Adler Planetarium featuring a performance by rapper and actor Common. The mayor’s potential presence was touted on invitations for some of the GoChiLife events. The size of the contributions Smith was seeking, his relationship with Johnson and the nature of the nonprofit’s tax status gave pause to some of those asked for donations. Their concerns: How the money would be spent — and if they were really being asked to support Johnson’s political work instead.

* Tribune | Kamala Harris’ move to the top of the ticket gave DNC hotel bookings in Chicago a boost, but don’t expect Taylor Swift-level crowds: The Democratic National Committee signed contracts with more than 40 Chicago hotels, including the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile, Palmer House Hilton and Sheraton Grand Chicago, according to party officials. The hotels agreed to hold thousands of rooms at contracted rates until Aug. 7, but interest in the new nominee attracted a burst of late bookings, and party officials say some hotels have decided to extend that deadline. […] So far, hotel operators say the convention hasn’t been a blockbuster event like Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, which packed downtown hotels with big-spending concertgoers for three nights last summer.

* Tribune | Illinois Democrats provide DNC preview with energetic support of Kamala Harris at Illinois State Fair: “Can you feel the electricity across the nation for our next president, Kamala Harris?!” Pritzker shouted to applause from hundreds of people at the annual Democratic County Chairs’ Brunch in the Bank of Springfield Center. “We are just days away from hosting delegates and party leaders from across this nation for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and we are 83 days away from hearing the two words this country’s waited 248 years to hear: Madame President.” The celebratory gathering of the state’s Democrats, both at the brunch and the state fairgrounds, was an occasion to keep the focus on issues including reproductive and workers’ rights three months ahead of the election, while also warning of the danger they say Republican Donald Trump poses to some of those rights as well as to democracy itself.

* Tribune | Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff in Chicago for fundraisers: Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, headlined three Chicago-area fundraisers Wednesday, including one hosted by the former president of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and his wife. “Just today, she was in the situation room dealing with the security of Israel,” Emhoff said of Harris as he spoke in the West Loop home of former AIPAC President Lee “Rosy” Rosenberg. “So this is something that is personal. It’s something that is meaningful, and it’s something that she will continue to do as president of the United States.”

* Sun-Times | Second gentleman Doug Emhoff addresses antisemitism at Chicago fundraiser for Kamala Harris campaign: Emhoff spoke about how unfortunate it was for the Biden and Harris administration to inherit the issues they did from Donald Trump’s administration and assured attendees that Harris would continue to combat antisemitism. “When they got to office, post-Trump, there’s so many things that Biden and Harris inherited. … One of those things was hate,” he said.

* Hollywood Reporter | Hollywood Hits the Windy City: Roundup of Stars Traveling to Chicago’s DNC for Concerts, Events: The Creative Coalition, led by Robin Bronk, has also confirmed details for a series of events being hosted by the nonprofit, nonpartisan social and public advocacy organization of the arts and entertainment community. Led by president Tim Daly and CEO Bronk, the org confirmed that it had booked a delegation that includes Uma Thurman, Uzo Aduba, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Yvette Nicole Brown, Anthony Anderson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Busy Philipps, Jon Cryer, David Cross, Yolonda Ross, Iain Armitage, Chris Witaske and Danai Gurira.