O’HARE — As the Democratic National Convention begins, Chicago’s rail lines and airport terminals look fancier — and a little more patriotic.
Thousands of delegates, 12,000 volunteers and hundreds of national and local media are flocking to the city this week to attend the convention. CTA riders said they’ve noticed cleaner train cars and seen more CTA employees making improvements in recent weeks.
Michelle Dixon, who regularly rides the Blue Line to work and works at the McDonald’s restaurant at O’Hare Airport’s Terminal 5, said she’s seen more CTA workers cleaning the train cars in recent weeks. About a month ago, workers also painted the floor of the O’Hare station, Dixon said.
“Everything used to be dirty and black,” she said.
Hugh Carter, a Jehovah’s Witnesses volunteer, regularly distributes fliers near the O’Hare Blue Line station. He said he has seen more CTA workers at the station in the past two weeks and that new signs have recently been added, including a large “Welcome to Chicago” card.
Carter also said that he and his fellow Jehovah’s Witnesses volunteers had been told that they were not allowed to distribute leaflets at the station on weekends for security reasons.
There were even signs in an airport restroom outside the Blue Line station that read “Freshly Painted.”
On X, formerly known as Twitter, users said the Blue Line trains appeared cleaner on Friday.
“I also saw crews working on the tracks at Clark/Lake and crews doing both painting and cleaning on the tracks at Roosevelt on the Green Line. Must be nice to be a DNC attendee!” commented X-user Bryan Dolan. “And finally, for the first time in a while, escalators work in both directions on the Clark & Lake when transferring to southbound and westbound trains.”
Earlier this summer, banners highlighting Chicago neighborhoods and signs with the American and Chicago flags were installed at the O’Hare Blue Line station and will remain there after the DNC, a CTA spokesperson said in a statement. Money for the signs was paid for from the CTA’s general budget.
Controversial CTA President Dorval Carter spoke about the upcoming convention during the Chicago Transit Board’s August 14 meeting.
“For months, we met with city and state officials to coordinate our efforts. In fact, CTA staff served on several DNC committees and spent hundreds of hours in meetings and planning to ensure CTA is ready to serve the residents and visitors who need us to get to shelters, parties and, of course, the United Center,” Carter said.
Some stations have been upgraded in recent weeks, but the upgrades were part of the CTA’s annual Refresh & Renew program and were planned beforehand, according to the agency. The upgrades included improved lighting, fresh paint, new signs, pressure washing and concrete repairs, according to the CTA.
The improvements within the framework of the Refresh and Renew programs are also financed from the CTA’s overall budget.
Just this month, the long-awaited Damen Green Line station opened very close to the United Center, where most of the convention will take place. Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced plans for the station at Lake Street and Damen Avenue in 2017, and officials initially expected it to open in 2020.
Stars and stripes and other red, white and blue decorations were seen throughout O’Hare Airport on Friday. DNC volunteers were also spread throughout the airport to counsel travelers and man information booths.
Convention volunteers Megan Drilling and Amy Claver stood outside the Blue Line stop, tasked with helping convention attendees navigate the city’s public transportation system.
“I live in Chicago and wanted to do my part to welcome people to the city,” said Claver. “The city has very good public transportation and I’m glad the delegates can use it.”
Volunteers were also stationed at Midway Airport and Union Station, Drilling said. About 700 DNC volunteers were helping out at O’Hare through Sunday, said Becky Smith, another volunteer.
“Chicago’s airports welcome more than 250,000 passengers each day, so O’Hare and Midway are more than ready to welcome the 50,000 visitors expected in our city for the Democratic National Convention,” the Chicago Department of Transportation said in a statement.
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