It's Curious City, where we take your questions about Chicago and the region, and investigate, report, explore, from WBEZ.

Hi, I'm reporter Robert Lower Z. No city has hosted as many national political conventions as Chicago.

When Democrats meet this month at the United

Center, it'll be the 26th time Chicago has been the host city for one of these big

political gatherings. But when people look back over the history of all those conventions,

there's one year that stands out in everyone's mind, 1968.

That was when protesters and police clashed in the streets.

Now, as Chicago gets ready to host another Democratic National Convention,

a listener asked Curiousity, what lessons can we learn from 1968?

Will the chaos repeat in 2024? To answer that question, we need to go back to 68.

It's important to understand that the turmoil wasn't just in Chicago streets.

The convention for itself was completely chaotic.

Chicago lawyer John R. Schmidt was at the convention,

working for Eugene McCarthy, a candidate opposed to the Vietnam War.

It's hard to exaggerate the level of anger and kind of tension in the convention hall.

People started chanting and pounding their seat.

The delegates were arguing about the Vietnam War, the same issue firing up protesters out in the streets.

While Schmidt was in the convention hall, Craig Sauter was protesting at the corner of Michigan Avenue and Balbo Drive

as the National Guard fired off tear gas and Chicago police clubbed protesters.

And I saw an anchorman, I saw him climbing up the ladder of this truck,

so I just followed him up the ladder.

So I was up on top of that truck watching the action unfold. It was like, you know, like a revolution in Paris or something like that.

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