Windy city hopes to float on hot air

0 Comments | Insight on the News, August 12, 1996 | by Gene Koprowski

Despite all this planning, there could be snags. Cab drivers have declared that they may go on strike during the convention if they do not receive a 25 percent fare boost before the end of the summer. The city won't budge, refusing to be blackmailed, so delegates may have to hoof it. What's more, police and firefighters are negotiating hard with Daley, known about town as Richard II, about affirmative action hiring. Last, the police department's old nemesis, the Yippies, the group founded by Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, are planning to stage a protest. Some participating in the protest had not been born in 1968, but that won't stop them from traveling to Chicago to carry on the tradition.

City officials estimate that $126 million will be spent by more peaceable visitors during the convention -- less than is spent in Chicago during other large trade shows such as the national restaurant convention.