Glencoe, Community

Vice President Harris swings by Glencoe, gives speech to local donors

A special Glencoe visitor quite literally stopped traffic on Thursday.

Vice President Kamala Harris stopped in the North Shore for a fundraising event hosted by Invest to Elect, a network of Chicagoland women investors who support Democratic candidates.

Harris was in the Midwest as part of her Economic Opportunity Tour, stopping in Milwaukee on Thursday morning prior to her visit to Glencoe, which caused numerous street closures.

Invest to Elect member Karen Citow welcomed Harris and about 120 guests to her and her husband Jon’s Glencoe home, where the vice president spoke on the lakeside terrace.

Harris spoke about the importance of the upcoming election on both national and global scales.

“I think we have now 173 days to go.  It sounds like a lot of time, but we know it’s not. And I will say we are winning. We are winning, and we will win,” Harris said according to a copy of the speech posted by The White House.

Harris speaks to more than 100 guests during the Invest to Elect event.

She spoke of her and President Joe Biden’s administration’s work on job and business growth and medical care. She also spoke about leadership.

“The true character trait of leaders is to have empathy, to have some level of care and concern, much less just curiosity, about the suffering of other people and then to take it upon oneself to do something to alleviate their condition,” Harris said according to the transcript. “… That’s what we’re about. And as much as anything else, that’s what this election is about: showing who we are as Americans.”

Patrick Hanley, the president of the New Trier Democrats, was at the event and said he thanked the vice president for how she has addressed gun violence. He said he gave her a thank you note from the New Trier chapter of Moms Demand Action, an active participant in the fight against gun violence.

He said Harris was “on great form.”

“It was an unforgettable afternoon,” Hanley said in an email to The Record.

Law enforcement activity

The Village of Glencoe received advance notice of the vice president’s arrival from the U.S. Secret Service and partnered with the organization and other federal and local agencies to organize and secure the event, including via temporary road closures.

Glenoce Public Safety resources were used in the operation; however, the Village said “careful steps were taken to ensure that regular Public Safety services would always remain available to serve the needs of the Glencoe community.”

The village added that because of the nature of the event it could not provide advance communication about the visit.

“We recognize the various road closures and other traffic impacts likely impacted a number of our residents on Thursday. … We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciated your patience,” the release says.


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joe coughlin
Joe Coughlin

Joe Coughlin is a co-founder and the editor in chief of The Record. He leads investigative reporting and reports on anything else needed. Joe has been recognized for his investigative reporting and sports reporting, feature writing and photojournalism. Follow Joe on Twitter @joec2319

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