President Biden to tout economic achievements in Chicago speech Wednesday

President Joe Biden will deliver a speech on economic achievements Wednesday in Chicago.

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WASHINGTON — When President Joe Biden travels to Chicago on Wednesday for a reelection fundraiser, he will also deliver what is being billed by the White House as a “major” speech on his economic achievements, dubbed “Bidenomics.”

With the end-of-quarter approaching, Biden’s main fundraiser will be hosted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker and his wife MK.

On Friday, Biden’s team added another event to his schedule — the “Bidenomics” speech — making this Chicago visit a split political and government day, meaning the costs are shared between taxpayers and the Biden political operation.

The Wednesday visit will mark Biden’s first trip to Chicago since he gave the green light for the city to host the 2024 Democratic National Convention, where he and Vice President Kamala Harris will be nominated for a second term.

The contours of the Biden/Harris reelection campaign are taking shape, with touting economic achievements — even as times remain challenging for some — at the top of the political and government agenda, along with highlighting how the Biden administration is trying to safeguard remaining reproductive freedoms a year after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

Biden’s speech comes against an Illinois backdrop of local governments running cities, counties, public schools and the state benefiting enormously from massive infusions of budget-balancing federal cash. There has also been, under various Biden administration programs, funds for projects — from $20 million for the Englewood Line Trail to $117 million for rebuilding parts of the Metra North Line — and much more.

Last Saturday, Biden previewed what he is likely to say about “Bidenomics” at a labor rally in Philadelphia, coming after the early endorsement of the AFL-CIO.

“Bidenomics” will be the campaign and White House shorthand for describing the Biden “Invest in America” agenda. That sweeps in:

• The massive infrastructure bill.
• The American Rescue Plan, coming in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, dealing with manufacturing, supply chains and research and development investments. On Friday, the Commerce Department released its roadmap to channeling federal funding to invest in the semiconductor supply chain and other U.S. supply chain manufacturing.
• The Inflation Reduction Act, which gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.

In Philadelphia, the president said “Bidenomics” is “about building an economy — literally, not figuratively — from the bottom up and the middle out, not the top down. Because when the middle class does well, everybody does well. The poor have a way up, and the wealthy do — do — they just do just fine.

“But like I said, I didn’t just come into office with a theory; I came with a plan. And it started with passing the American Rescue Plan — a plan to vaccinate the nation and get our economy going again.”

Speaking about the infrastructure bill, Biden said of the rare measure passed with GOP votes, “It’s about investing in America and our roads, bridges, ports, airports, clean water, high-speed Internet, and so much more.”

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