The city of Chicago and leaders from Illinois had a significant role in former Vice President Kamala Harris’ new memoir, “107 Days.”
On Saturday, the former Democratic presidential nominee made a stop in Chicago as part of her book tour. The event, held at the Auditorium Theatre in the Loop, largely went on as planned, though it was disrupted multiple times by protesters who were escorted out by security.
Harris’ book, meanwhile, gives readers a peek behind the curtain at what she was thinking during moments–big and small–of her failed run for president. For example, she reveals what happened the pivotal day former President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed Harris. She immediately began calling politicians across the country and asking for their support. Harris wrote that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker told her, “As governor of Illinois, I’m the convention host. I can’t commit.” Pritzker endorsed Harris a day later.
Harris talked about her friendship with Chicago native Minyon Moore, who served as the chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, and the “What If Committee” that Moore had created to prepare for contingencies, including the possibility that former President Joe Biden could drop out of the race.
Harris wrote: “Of all the advice and consolation I have received since the election, Minyon Moore’s words have moved me: ‘God gave you a beautiful 107 days to reclaim who you are. You have been able to push back against the caricatures, all the vile and ugly things, and be yourself. You gave America your heart and soul. You gave it your all.’ I did. And I’m not done.”
The convention itself, which took place from Aug. 19 to 22 2024, at the United Center and McCormick Place in Chicago, also was featured prominently in the memoir, given that Harris made a surprise appearance the first night and gave the final speech on the last night as the party’s nominee.
Another big moment during the campaign came when Harris talked about comments President Donald Trump, then the Republican presidential nominee, made in Chicago in July 2024 during the National Association of Black Journalists conference. Trump falsely suggested that Harris had misled voters about her race. He said he “didn’t know” Harris was Black and that she only recently “became Black.”
In the memoir, Harris also mentioned U.S. Rep. Lauren Underwood, who lives in Naperville, when she talked about her secret “Stars Project.” As part of the project, Harris mentored people she believed were “younger talents” in the Democratic Party, including Underwood. Many of the young Democrats spoke at the convention, Harris revealed, including Underwood.