Mayor Wooing '08 Conventions

Mayor Bloomberg and the speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, are scheduled to fly to Chicago tonight for one last pitch to get the 2008 Democratic National convention to New York.

The two will speak at a cocktail reception in Chicago's Millennium Park and will be joined by Soprano's star Lorraine Bracco.

The host committee is chartering a double-decker bus to bring the delegates — who are in the Windy City for an annual summer meeting — to the reception. The bar will serve Cosmopolitans, Manhattans, and "Big Apple" Martinis.

New York is competing with Minneapolis and Denver to get the convention. In June the city wined and dined the Democrats 10-member committee.

Meanwhile, the city is also pitching to the Republicans this week. A nine-member committee arrived in the city Tuesday night and will be in town until tomorrow as city officials try to sell them on holding the convention here for a second consecutive time.

Mr. Bloomberg, a Republican, has said that he wants either convention here because it would be a boost for the economy.

His office said the 2004 Republican convention, which was held at Madison Square Garden, generated a $255 million economic impact.