Daley helped turn out the vote for John F. Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election . Kennedy won Illinois by 9,000 votes , yet won Cook County by 450,000 votes , with some Chicago precincts going to Kennedy by over 10 to 1 margins . Illinois ' 27 electoral votes helped give Kennedy the majority he needed . Chicago was selected to host the 1968 Democratic National Convention . Political commentator Len O'Connor described this period as Richard J. Daley 's " High Water Mark " and described the Cook County Democratic Party at the time as one of the most powerful political machines in American history
1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
Cook County Democratic Party