Dem, GOP convention picks show Midwest’s political influence

FIlE - Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot participates in a forum with other Chicago mayoral candidates hosted by the Chicago Women Take Action Alliance Jan. 14, 2023, at the Chicago Temple in Chicago. Lightfoot made history four years ago as the first Black woman and first openly gay person to serve as Chicago mayor. But her bid for a second term is in question amid concerns about continuing high crime in the nation’s third-largest city and accusations that she can be overly hostile and sometimes flat-out mean. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley, File)