Oct. 19, 1962 - President Kennedy received a roaring welcome today as he swung into the heart of America for three days of campaigning in seven states. In Cleveland, Springfield (pictured), and Chicago, the President’s message was the same one he has been sounding all fall: Elect Democrats to Congress and keep the nation moving ahead. In Springfield, the President laid a wreath at the tomb of Abraham Lincoln. Then he went to the Illinois State Fairgrounds to receive a 21-gun salute and the cheers of 6,000 persons. In Chicago, the Presidential motorcade from O’Hare Field into the downtown Loop area was cheered by thousands. At times, in the heart of the city, the motorcade crawled along because of the crowds. However, across from the Sheraton-Blackstone Hotel, where the President was to spend the night, pickets paraded with signs protesting his failure to end segregation in Federal housing.
