Kansas City’s Loss is Chicago’s Gain
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation’s largest Hispanic advocacy group, has settled on Chicago for its 2009 convention in July.
Kansas City, Mo., had originally been selected for the event until the group discovered a member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps on the city’s Parks and Recreation Board. The Minuteman group is known for its stance against illegal immigration, and for its members patrolling the U.S./Mexico border for illegal border crossings.
In a news release Feb. 7, La Raza said members of its Kansas City affiliate had requested a change of venue after Kansas City’s mayor appointed Frances Semler, a member of the “vigilante group,” to the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Board.
Semler resigned from the board last month, but La Raza had voted in October to move its convention. The group will hold the event at Chicago’s new McCormick Place West Building “to ensure that the event remained in the Midwest,” according to a news release.
“Chicago is a culturally diverse city with a strong Latino community that embraces the values our nation was built on, and we are excited to bring our 2009 Annual Conference to a city that appreciates and recognizes the contributions of Latinos,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR president and CEO, in a statement.
NCLR officials say their event serves as the meeting ground for more than 20,000 of its members from around the country.
Kansas City officials had expected the event to bring in between $5 million and $7 million.