(Bloomberg) -- Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, the billionaire who championed Chicago’s bid for the Democratic National Convention, dismissed concerns about a repeat of historic riots as the city beefs up security measures for the August presidential nominating event. 

At least 50,000 people from across the US are expected to descend on Chicago for the $90 million presidential nominating convention on Aug. 19-22 where delegates are set to select President Joe Biden for a second term. 

Heightened partisan tensions and demonstrations on college campuses across the country over the war between Israel and Hamas are ratcheting up fears of intense protests striking the city. Chicago’s history doesn’t help: Vietnam War protests erupted into rioting when it hosted the 1968 Democratic convention, and widespread looting struck businesses in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.

“We feel like we’re in much better shape,” Pritzker said in an interview in Bloomberg’s Chicago office. “But I understand why people can get nervous because if you were around in the summer of 2020, it’s going to take a little while I think for people’s tensions to decrease.”

“I do not think that we are going to have anything like that,” Pritzker added, “and in particular, it’s because there’s such good security that has been planned for this convention.”

The convention is a make-or-break moment for Pritzker to bolster Biden’s reelection bid and secure his own political future. The self-described optimist is riding a wave of positive news, including a slew of credit ratings upgrades for Illinois, new corporate investments and billions of shovel-ready infrastructure projects made possible by rounds of federal investment. The DNC is an opportunity for Biden to shore up an increasingly fractured Democratic base, and for Pritzker to prove the city he fought for is ready for the national spotlight.

“Joe Biden literally can stand on top of the United Center and point to all the things that he’s done that have made this city better already,” Pritzker said, referencing the indoor sports arena where Biden will accept his party’s nomination.

Pritzker, a Biden ally, has been discussed as a potential successor to the president in 2028. The two represent a similar moderate world view in Democratic politics, with both strongly supporting unions and having a knack for cutting political deals. The success, or lack thereof, of the DNC is seen as a key indicator of his ability to mount a national political campaign. 

Downplayed Concerns

To put on such a spectacle is expensive and requires cooperation between every level of government from local police departments to the Secret Service. Both Chicago and Milwaukee, which is hosting the Republican nominating convention in July, are expected to receive $75 million of federal funding for security while also sharing resources. The two cities are initiating a police swap to help with surveillance. 

Pritzker, 59, downplayed concerns that the protests on more than 100 college campuses nationally including Northwestern University and the University of Chicago in his state will disrupt the event. He said that he’s been to every Democratic convention since he could vote and that protests occur every four years and are mostly peaceful. 

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“There is always something to protest about,” Pritzker said. “The university campuses have been a protest ground for an awful lot of young people. I think it’ll be a different crowd that’s protesting when we get to a convention.” 

Pritzker is also helping to fundraise for the convention, determined to not let the organizing committee come out of the event with a deficit. As the former head of the private equity and venture capital firm — the Pritzker Group — and a heir to the Hyatt Hotel fortune, Pritzker has a net-worth of about $4 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He declined to disclose how much he has personally donated to the convention but noted that it wasn’t “outstanding.” 

Pritzker also touted the benefits for the state and city from hosting such a major event.

It follows other good news for Illinois, which has long struggled with fiscal problems and massive pension debt. On Pritzker’s watch, Illinois has won nine credit rating upgrades over the last three years after the state passed multiple budgets on time, paid down overdue bills that reached $16 billion in 2017 and built up the rainy day fund from almost nothing to $2 billion.

The state has been luring corporations, most recently securing a commitment from Rivian Automotive Inc. to expand its electric-vehicle plant in the state. Pritzker said that he has a pipeline of 28 companies interested in moving to the state — up from about three or four when he came into office. 

“These are companies with thousands of jobs and billions of dollars to invest and we’re on the radar,” he said. 

--With assistance from Kailey Leinz.

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