Chicago is preparing to welcome an influx of visitors from the Democratic National Convention, but many typical downtown office workers will likely stay home.
Concerned about the ease of travel to and from the city center or the risk that protests or security issues will hamper transportation routes, some companies are planning to close their offices or make mandatory office days optional during the four-day conference.
“It’s kind of unfortunate because we’re all trying to get people back into the office,” said Michael Thanasouras, managing director of real estate firm SVN Chicago Commercial.
The DNC is a chance for Chicago leaders to show off the city to the tens of thousands of politicians, delegates, protesters and media expected to attend the event. But for some employers, the national spotlight also comes with the threat of disruption and leads them to consider it easier for employees to stay home, even as companies seek to continue luring people into downtown offices after the pandemic changed work habits.
Officials are considering the implications of Secret Service-protected dignitaries traveling downtown and potentially unplanned street closures. There are also known street closures that are part of the security perimeters around the United Center and McCormick Place, the two main convention sites. CTA buses will be rerouted around those perimeters. Metra will operate regularly, but service could be interrupted on the Electric Line, which runs near McCormick Place, because of the planned travel of Secret Service-protected people.
As companies plan their operations, farm machinery maker Deere has advised employees at its Fulton Market office to work remotely “to avoid the traffic and congestion we anticipate during the convention,” the company confirmed. SVN plans to close its West Loop office. Health care marketing firm AbelsonTaylor, located in the former post office building downtown, plans to keep its office open but is allowing employees to stay home on a day they would typically be required to come in.
Accenture plans to close its West Loop office, just as it closed an office in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention in July, Bloomberg reported. The company did not respond to Tribune requests for comment.
And Metra, the rail agency that has historically served downtown travelers, said it anticipated ridership could be lower during the convention because some regular riders are working remotely.
Jack Lavin, president of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, said he’s not worried about downtown emptying of its regular employees. While some businesses are closing their offices, others are staying open, he said. Federal and local security agencies, which have long been working on the DNC plans, have given downtown businesses a good idea of what to expect, and alerts and apps will help inform downtown residents of any disruptions from VIP travel or protests, he said.
Chicago is no stranger to big events, he said, citing traffic from the recent Lollapalooza music festival.
“We encourage businesses to stay open and operate as normal,” he said. “We want people to continue to come downtown, to work and to visit during the convention. The more people downtown, the more businesses will thrive.”
But for SVN’s Thanasouras, the uncertainty of transportation convinced the company to close the office during the convention. Executives weighed the prospects of a presidential motorcade blocking streets just as employees wanted to go home for the evening, an employee who was supposed to leave for an emergency but was stranded by closed roads, and longer-than-usual commute times, he said. He’d rather people spend their time working than being stressed by traffic.
The brokerage firm has about 52 employees and independent contractors based in Chicago, about half of whom are in the office on a typical day, Thanasouras estimated.
The Democratic convention is another obstacle to efforts to boost downtown’s momentum after the pandemic upended traditional office work habits, Thanasouras said. That momentum has had its ups and downs, he said, and other issues like ongoing construction on the Kennedy have also been obstacles. But the convention appears to be another reason for people to turn to remote work.
“I feel like it’s just another bump in the road,” he said.
At AbelsonTaylor, in the old post office, employees are typically required to come in on Wednesdays, when they get a free lunch. But during the convention, the office day will be optional, President Jeff Berg said. And office caterer Fooda told the company it wouldn’t be able to deliver meals that day.
Berg will likely take the Metra train to the office during the convention. But he worries that bus route changes and transportation issues will make it difficult for other employees to get to the office, and that protests could make downtown chaotic.
Typically, about 150 people come into the office on Wednesdays, he said. During the convention, he estimated there would be about five.
“People need to work and they don’t need to worry about these kinds of things,” he said.
The number of companies asking employees to work from home is not readily available, and the Building Owners and Managers Association, which represents the office building industry, does not track it.
The organization encourages businesses to keep their employees working downtown, but each business must do what it thinks is best, said Amy Masters, director of government and external affairs.
BOMA buildings will remain open and staffed by security experts, and convention planners and city coordinators have created multiple ways for downtown commuters to stay informed about street closures and traffic issues, she said.
However, Masters said, there will be traffic coming from the convention, so employees traveling downtown should give themselves extra time.
“Chicago is a city with a lot of experience putting on events like this, which attract tens of thousands of visitors,” she said.
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