WASHINGTON--The Democratic National Committee holds its fall meeting in Chicago on Friday and Saturday, previewing the 2012 nominating convention a year away in Charlotte, rallying base constitutient groups and providing a rare glimpse of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan in his role as Democratic Party of Illinois chairmain.

The DNC session comes as President Obama's and the DNC's mega donors and fund-raisers are also in Chicago for briefings from White House and campaign officials on Thursday and Friday. The Democrats are gathering Thursday night at the Obama 2012 headquarters in the Prudential Building to watch Obama's jobs speech before a joint session of Congress.

I'm told that some 300 DNC members plus staff will be in Chicago for the meeting at the Marriott, 151 W. Adams in the Loop.

Madigan was last in the political news because he attended a fund-raising for GOP House Speaker John Boehner in the Chicago suburb of Lemont last month, the Sun-Times reported. Apprarently there are no hard feelings because Madigan will be addressing the group, according to the DNC schedule. Madigan is a rarity among state Democratic chairmen because he rarely interacts with the DNC.

Other speakers include Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former White House chief of staff, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Steve Kerrigan, the CEO of the 2012 convention in North Carolina and DNC Chairman Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fl.). State Sen. Iris Martinez (D-Chicago) is the DNC Hispanic Caucus chair.