Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson offered assurances Wednesday that their ongoing animosity with Republican President Donald Trump wouldn’t hamper security planning with federal agencies if national Democratic officials choose Chicago to repeat as host for the party’s 2028 nominating convention.

The two Democratic officials’ comments came as Ken Martin, chair of the Democratic National Committee, and other party officials wrapped up a three-day visit to Chicago to assess which of the five competing cities will be the best site to host the national convention Aug. 7-10, 2028. Party officials already have been to Atlanta, Denver and Philadelphia, with a site visit to Boston still to come.

While the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago was widely regarded as a success, Trump’s victory that November reignited tensions between Chicago and Illinois Democratic leaders and the White House. The height of the conflict has so far been last fall’s onslaught of militarized federal immigration enforcement actions known as Operation Midway Blitz.

Nevertheless, Pritzker expressed confidence that state and local authorities could work hand in hand with the Secret Service, FBI and other federal agencies under Trump’s purview to secure a future DNC, just as they did in 2024 under Democratic President Joe Biden.

“We work every day at the state with federal agencies,” such as the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, Pritzker said, speaking with the Chicago skyline as a backdrop during a news conference at the observation deck atop 875 North Michigan Avenue, the former John Hancock Center. “They’re hyperprofessional, the folks that we work with, and they help us arrest the bad guys, and we help them arrest the bad guys.”

Pritzker, who is seeking a third term as governor but is also considered a possible contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination, said he is “always concerned” about how Trump might act.

Johnson, who in January expressed “profound concerns” about the Trump administration’s involvement in security planning for a potential 2028 DNC in Chicago, softened his tone somewhat Wednesday, noting that the president’s use of “his personal militarized force” to carry out immigration enforcement crackdowns has abated.

“Our ability to work with the federal agencies is still very much strong and intact,” Johnson said. “But, of course, it would be irresponsible if we did not express those concerns, to call it out for what it is, so that in the event, once a decision is made, wherever this convention is, this president cannot behave the same way, in a partisan way, to brutalize and, of course, to single out his political opponents.”

In 2024, Congress allocated $75 million each to Chicago and Milwaukee, host of that year’s Republican National Convention, to help cover security costs.

New York, which hosted the Democrats in 1976 and 1980, was the last city to hold back-to-back conventions for the same party, but Chicago has been a repeat site.

President Franklin Roosevelt received the Democratic nomination for a third and fourth term at Chicago Stadium in 1940 and 1944; former Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson was the party’s choice during conventions at the International Amphitheatre in 1952 and 1956; and the Democrats came to town in 1892 and 1896 to nominate Grover Cleveland and William Jennings Bryan, respectively. Republicans held five straight conventions in the city, from 1904 through 1920.

“This city is used to hosting great conventions, and we’ve done it before twice in a row, so I’m excited to welcome folks back and to be supportive of it,” said Pritzker, who, along with his wife, MK, shelled out $5.6 million from a trust fund to support the 2024 convention. Their contribution accounted for nearly 6% of the $97 million raised by the convention’s local host committee.

While it may seem difficult to understand why Democrats would return to Chicago, the number of cities that are a good fit for the party is limited because there are only a few cities with strong union backgrounds and enough hotel rooms to accommodate the thousands who attend.

Chicago also has made a bid to host the 2032 DNC, though it’s unclear whether party officials would consider a threepeat if the city is chosen for 2028.

Pritzker, a Hyatt Hotels heir whose fortune Forbes values at $4.3 billion, wouldn’t specify how much he planned to contribute to a future Chicago convention, saying only that he would “probably contribute some amount … as I do always.”

An ardent supporter of 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, Pritzker gave $1.25 million to the host committee for that year’s DNC in Philadelphia, making him the largest individual donor, according to federal campaign finance disclosures.

Pritzker said he hasn’t committed to covering any outstanding costs to shield taxpayers from being left with the bill, but he expects local fundraising for a future convention to at least break even, if not generate a surplus, as it did in 2024.

This week’s visit by national Democratic Party leaders included a Monday preview of the Obama Presidential Center in Woodlawn, a Tuesday walk-through at the United Center, which served as the main site of the past two Chicago DNCs, and an architecture boat tour later on Wednesday.

During brief remarks at the Wednesday news conference, Martin called Chicago “a remarkable city” that “has always spoken about the grit of America” and embodied hardworking Midwestern values. As chair of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and head of the association of state party chairs, Martin played a key role in the 2024 DNC.

Despite the day’s focus on the next presidential election, Martin — who is facing serious questions about his leadership of the national party — said his highest priority is ensuring Democratic victories in the Nov. 3 midterm election.

“While my focus, of course, these last few weeks has been on touring these fantastic cities, it has not distracted us from the work we need to do as a Democratic Party to ensure that we’re victorious in 174 days,” said Martin, who left the news conference after speaking without taking any questions from reporters. “That is our No. 1 goal … to make sure we win the midterm elections, and we’ll turn our attention here in the coming months to where we will host the convention.”

The national party has not announced a timeline for selecting which of the five finalists will host the 2028 convention, but Martin said officials “look forward to continuing the conversation with each of them as we select a host for 2028 and potentially our 2032 convention site.”